Martin Puryear: Nexus Exhibition Cleveland Museum of Art April 12 - August 9, 2026
The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is exhibiting a career survey of the preeminent sculptor Martin Puryear (American, b. 1941). For more than half a century, Puryear has captivated the public with works of astonishing beauty and elaborate craftsmanship whose sources of inspiration range from global cultures and social history to the natural world. Co-organized with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), Martin Puryear: Nexus is the first comprehensive exhibition of the artist's work in nearly two decades.
Assembling some 50 works from across Puryear's career, the exhibition focuses on his use of a rich variety of materials and media-from sculptures in wood, rawhide, glass, marble, and metal, to rarely shown drawings, prints, and maquettes.
"Martin Puryear is best known for his sculptures, which are startingly beautiful abstract forms. But beyond their beauty, these works invite us to see with fresh eyes the world that we inhabit-they are timeless and contemporary all at once," reflected Emily Liebert, Lauren Rich Fine Curator of Contemporary Art and Chair of Art of the Americas and Modern and Contemporary Art.
Curator Emily Liebert
"Puryear's hands have been on every sculpture that leaves his studio. The thought, care, and precision lavished on each work of art by its maker is palpable."
The CMA press release says, "Martin Puryear: Nexus reflects the artist's singular practice, one that combines the distinctive techniques of production with the formal histories he has encountered through a lifetime of movement, research, and study. The exhibition begins with work from the early 1960s and follows Puryear's subsequent innovations in form, material, and process. Sculpture, the medium for which Puryear is best known, is integrated with prints, drawings, and documentation of the outdoor commissions that the artist has created around the world. Rooted in new scholarship, Martin Puryear: Nexus sheds light on the ways that the artist's unique vocabulary has been shaped by his enduring interests in global traditions of material culture, African American history, and the natural world."
When you walk in the first piece you will see is Hibernian Testosterone. The lighting lets the piece cast some cool shadows.
Hibernian Testosterone
My favorite part is that many of the works are not up against a wall so you can walk around them and view from different perspectives. That's important with pieces like Alien Huddle, Looking Askance and C.F.A.O.
Alien Huddle is special because it's part of the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection.
Alien Huddle by Martin Puryear
The artist himself told us at a special event that the 3 spheres of the piece were inspired by the birth of his daughter. He said he and his wife were in the room and suddenly there was a third person! Like an alien.
Rawhide Cone uses the translucent property of rawhide to demonstrate the flow of time.
Rawhide Cone
Sanctuary is very interesting. He created it after a fire destroyed most of his works in 1977.
Sanctuary
It has a "safe space" open box on top and a wheel on the bottom for mobility. A lot to think about there.
I liked Looking Askance which again benefits from being in the middle of the room where you can walk around it.
Looking Askance
A very popular piece was C.F.A.O. which is painted and unpainted pine on a wheelbarrow that the artist found. What makes it special is that as you move around it, there is a "face" on the front.
C.F.A.O. side view
C.F.A.O. from the front
Everyone wanted to pose with C.F.A.O.
CMA Director William Griswold, Chief Marketing Office Todd Mesek and Andria Derstine, the CMA’s Deputy Director and Chief Curator
Here is a video which begins with a few remarks from Todd Mesek and then looks at some of my favorites such as Hibernian Testosterone, Rawhide Cone, Sanctuary, Alien Huddle, Looking Askance and C.F.A.O. We asked a visiting professor about the different perspectives of C.F.A.O. Watch.
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