ART-PRESENTATION: Martin Puryear
Working primarily in wood, Martin Puryear has maintained an unwavering commitment to manual skill and traditional building methods. His sculptures are rich with psychological and intellectual references, examining issues of identity, culture, and history. His drawings and prints are less well known, but they are equally essential to the artist’s studio practice.
By Efi Michalarou
Photo: Museum Voorlinden Archive
The first Museum exhibition of Martin Puryear work is on presentation at Museum Voorlinden. Martin Puryear is a sculptor pur sang. The artist spends months, even years, working on a single sculpture. Wood is the material that lies at the base of his work. Martin has learned traditional methods of woodworking from craftspeople all across the globe. The elegant shapes, perfect finish and texture of every piece convey his dedication and love of the material itself. His experiences and broad interests in ornithology, literature, philosophy, biology and history are the reservoir from which he draws his inspiration. His work is abounding with references to natural history, cultural phenomena and historical events. Yet these references always remain implicit and suggestive. “If I were forced to describe my work, I’d say I’m interested in making sculpture that tries to describe itself to the world, work that acknowledges its maker and that offers an experience that’s probably more tactile and sensate than strictly cerebral”, the artist says. The development of Martin’s works from the 1970s until now follows a circular path in which old ideas are continuously merged with new insights. The result is a coherent oeuvre, yet one in which each sculpture retains its full autonomy. The subtle, sensory and tactile objects have an immediate impact on the viewer. Martin’s sculptures excite the imagination and ask you to slow down for a moment. “Big Phrygian” (2010-14) is 150 cm tall cedar-wood sculpture, painted bright vermillion, resembles the distinctive conical shape of a Phrygian cap. People of ancient Eastern Europe and Anatolia wore such caps, which in the modern world have come to signify the pursuit of liberty. “The Load” (2012), a wooden cube-shaped structure mounted above an axle connecting two found wooden cartwheels. This mobile cage, or cart with a long pulling shaft, has inside it a single gigantic eyeball looking out to the rear. Any viewer looking in through the wooden grid at the eye’s dark glass pupil will find their own reflection captured within the cage. In the first floor gallery amone others is ”Phrygian Spirit” (2012-14), a mixed-media wall sculpture, made predominantly of Alaskan yellow cedar, simply defines the negative space of a Phrygian cap. In contrast to the fragility of that piece is the sheer solidity of the iron sculpture “Shackled” (2014) which recalls the shackles worn by slaves when they were taken to America, a clear commentary on social history
Info: Voorlinden Museum & Gardens, Buurtweg 90, Wassenaar, Duration: 20/1-27/5/18, Days & Hours: Daily 11:00-17:00, www.voorlinden.nl
