Martin Puryear, who will represent the United States at the 2019 Vennice Biennale, is a contemporary African American artist best known for his large-scale sculptures and incisive works on paper. Fusing abstraction with an emphasis on traditional craftsmanship, the artist utilizes wood and stone, along with other ordinary objects, to create forms that are both suggestive and mutable in their exact origin. His pieces regularly involve the integration of organic and geometric shapes, with a focus on promoting an awareness of their construction. Continually at play along the boundary between abstraction and representation, his art seems to actively promote multiple interpretations of what remain its central themes, namely identity, race, culture and history.

Born in 1941 in Washington, D.C., Puryear spent his youth studying and learning the techniques of various traditional cultures. After attending the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts in Stockholm, he received his M.A. from Yale University. His first solo exhibition opened in 1968, and he has since held public commissions in Europe, Asia, and the United States.

For a complete list of available prints with price information please contact The Bott Collection.