Born in Washington, DC, he built furniture, guitars, and canoes in his childhood. His unique approach to object-making is informed not only by these early experiences but also his studies of ornithology, falconry, and archery. For two years, beginning in 1964, he volunteered with the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone, where he familiarized himself with local indigenous crafts. From 1966 to 1968, he studied printmaking at the Swedish Royal Academy of Arts in Stockholm and found himself, through explorations of etching and aquatint techniques, interested in sculpture. Before leaving Europe, he visited the Venice Biennale and was deeply influenced by his encounter with a collection of American Minimalism in the International Pavilion—an experience that would have a profound effect on his practice.

Puryear’s labor-intensive sculptures bring together psychological, cultural, and historical references and practices from a variety of traditions including wood carving and boat building. His abstract forms, while familiar, refuse singular interpretations. His motifs include the Phrygian cap (a conical hat associated with several international revolutions), human heads, and vessels that meditate on themes of freedom, shelter, and identity. He has worked with a diverse array of materials including wood, wire mesh, tar, stone, rawhide, and bronze.

Puryear received a BA from Catholic University of America and an MFA from Yale University. He represented the United States at the Bienal de São Paulo in 1989, where his exhibition won the Grand Prize; and the Venice Biennale in 2019. His awards include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the MacArthur Foundation, and a National Medal of Arts. The Studio Museum has presented his work in exhibitions such as The Decade Show: Frameworks of Identity in the 1980s (1990); Martin Puryear: The Cane Project (2000); and Excerpt: Selections from the Permanent Collection (2017).