Purvis Young

A 30 year retrospective of Purvis Young's work opened on April 1st, 2005, and will be on display until July 31st, 2005.

The Retrospective is presented in conjunction with Skot Foreman Fine Art (www.skotforeman.com).  The show shall run through July 31, 2005.  Entitled Purvis Young: Keeper of the Flame represents a kaleidoscopic view of one of folk art's most significant and acclaimed artists.

Purvis Young, Folk Art icon, highlights life within the urban landscape. He tells the urban tale with enthusiasm, clarity and fire. He knows the stories well. He has been there, lived the stories he paints and spares the viewer no detail. His art is alive with a vocabulary rich in symbolism, color and rhythm.

The artist Purvis Young is all about the Real. He lives in a modern age of Web sites, world class museum exhibitions, National Endowment of the Arts recognition and pop culture notoriety. While firmly entrenched in the present, however, the world he inhabits is timeless. Imagine that an artist is a contemporary maharishi--divine historian, a prophet. The voice is of the past, the vernacular is of today.

While the storyteller exists as a product of his history and background, it is the perspective gained that allows him to share the future. His vision is part ancient civilization, part yet to come. Purvis Young’s art is today. And its’ time is now.

The work is historically important, emotionally riveting and visually, unparalleled. Some will get it now--others later. Regardless, it’s impact is certain to be felt far into the future while still offering great satisfaction to those who view it today.

This is the work of a man and his journey whose view is of the ages, where stories of the past become the stories of today. As Young’s work reflects the nature of its’ time, his acceptance signals the emergence of a new era. If the vision is shared, then it should be nurtured. The art of Purvis Young connects us all. Let us acknowledge that connection, for it is fact. And most of all--very, very real.

--Skot Foreman