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MoCA Westport announces Purvis Young: This is the life I See as fall exhibition

MoCA [Museum of Contemporary Art] Westport announces its Fall Exhibition, Purvis Young: This is the Life I See, featuring thirty-six large scale works by American outsider artist Purvis Young. It is the first time that the works, from the Collection of Lynne and Jack Dodick, have been on view to the public.

Purvis Young. Photo Courtesy David A. Raccuglia. at moca westport in westport, connecticut
Purvis Young. Photo Courtesy David A. Raccuglia.

The exhibition will be on view September 15 – December 29, 2023. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, September 14, 2023 from 6 – 8 PM. The event is free for MoCA Members and $10 for the general public. Advance registration is requested by clicking here.

Purvis Young (1943 – 2010) was an entirely self-taught artist who dealt with the plight of the underprivileged and the consequences of racism and daily violence through a highly distinctive visual style. Young lived his entire life in the Miami, FL neighborhood of Overtown, once an entertainment destination as well as a designated black neighborhood in the segregated South. 

Young created thousands of works that featured a mixture of painting and drawing with collaged elements, utilizing everyday discarded found objects such as scrap lumber and plywood. Some are large and some are small. Some are landscapes. Some are portraits. Some have figures, people. Some of these people have bodies. Some of these people have eyes. Some have both, some have neither. 

Young’s work radiates rawness. His paintings indulge in color and shape. They are riddled with unrest and animation. They are intensely prolific. Ultimately, Young’s work is a dialogue of binaries. Freedom versus struggle. White versus black. Country versus city. Movement versus confinement. History versus contemporary. Truth versus deceit. Rich versus poor.

Purvis Young, Pipe Truck Assemblage, 47 by 43 inches. Paint, wood, screen and cardboard. The Collection of Lynne and Jack Dodick. at moca westport in westport, connecticut
Purvis Young, Pipe Truck Assemblage, 47 by 43 inches. Paint, wood, screen and cardboard. The Collection of Lynne and Jack Dodick.

Young began to create works of art while serving a three-year prison sentence for breaking and entering in his late teens. After his release, Young found inspiration in the Chicago and Detroit anti-Vietnam War murals. His works featured angels and holy men, pregnant women who he saw as beacons of hope, as well as protestors, warriors, wild horses and funerals. 

Unlike many of the artists that he admired in his later years, Purvis Young never had access to a traditional art education. What arises out of his role as an outsider artist is yet another subversion of history. With no constraints imposed on him from the academy, Young was able to excise himself from typical artistic traditions and discover new truths. Despite Young’s outsider status, especially later in his career, the artist felt a profound connection and resonance to other artists such as Rembrandt and Gauguin. Though he was never part of an artist community, he maintained an invisible communion with the devoted legacy of artists that came before him.

Purvis Young, Shackled In Blues. 44 by 48 inches. Paint on board. The Collection of Lynne and Jack Dodick. at moca westport in westport, connecticut
Purvis Young, Shackled In Blues. 44 by 48 inches. Paint on board. The Collection of Lynne and Jack Dodick.

Today, Young is considered a revered and significant outsider artist in Contemporary American art history. 

“Purvis Young was an artist that painted his life and community–particularly the black experience in Overtown, Florida. Young’s motivation to paint was inherent to who he was, and the stories he needed to tell,” explains Liz Leggett, MoCA Westport’s Director of Exhibitions. 

“The Collection of Lynne and Jack Dodick showcases Purvis Young as both an individual and artist, and the life he led as a black man in the South. This special collection provides a deeper understanding of the human experience,” Leggett added. 

MoCA Westport’s Fall gallery hours are Thursday – Sunday from 12 – 4 PM. Docent-led gallery tours are available on Thursdays and Saturdays at 1 PM. 

The Museum will be holding its annual fundraiser, The Surrealist Soirée, on Saturday, September 30, 2023 in the context of the exhibition.

MoCA Westport is grateful to Lynne and Dr. Jack Dodick for sharing their collection with MoCA Westport and the community. 

Click here for events at MoCA Westport
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