MARTIN PURYEAR (B. 1941)

“For me, the work is about form. Associations (with recognizable subject matter) are inevitable human reactions from people who have grown up with a figurative or representational tradition, but I prefer when people say they get a feeling from the work instead of a specific interpretation... References (to other objects or beings) are left open on purpose. Titles (such as “Lurk,” the name of a hollow wooden arc whose hard-edged exterior form houses an amorphous, dark interior) are entrances or clues. When work is as evocative as this, you shouldn’t be left dangling (without a title), but I don’t like to lock the work up too closely because that’s part of the richness.”
– Martin Puryear