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Exhibitions

Martin Puryear

Oct 04, 2018 - Mar 17, 2019
The Pavilions, Room 1

Martin Puryear’s (b. 1941) extensive sculptural practice embraces a wide range of traditions and cultural histories associated with woodworking. Influenced by his time studying in Sierra Leone and Stockholm, Puryear uses labor-intensive techniques to explore concepts including identity and oppression. Fashioned out of handcrafted wood and reclaimed parts of a carriage that the artist found in a barn in France, The Load, 2012, contains a massive sphere resembling a human eye. Sited nearby, Big Phrygian, 2010–2014, a monumental sculpture of a liberty cap, is a symbol of resistance that appeared in both the American and French Revolutions. Looking out onto the Water Court from Room 1 and the Passage, these sculptures were part of the inaugural installation of works in the Pavilions.

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Kara Walker
Sketch for an American Comic Opera with 20th century Race Riots, 2012
pastel and graphite on paper
99 x 216 inches (252 x 551 cm) overall
© Kara Walker

Kara Walker

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