Martin Puryear selected for US Pavilion at 2019 Venice Biennale with Madison Square Park Conservancy

Martin Puryear will create new sculptures and a site-specific installation for the forecourt of the US Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale in 2019. The Madison Square Park Conservancy and Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs jointly announced his selection, with Brooke Kamin Rapaport serving as curator. This marks the first time the US Pavilion exhibition has been organized by an institution exclusively focused on public art programming. Puryear previously collaborated with MSPC in 2016 on a public art installation for New York's Madison Square Park. His work spans over five decades, characterized by complex visual vocabulary and meticulous craftsmanship that has influenced artists internationally. An outreach program will connect underprivileged youth through Studio in a School, New York and Istituto Santa Maria Della Pietà in Venice. Rapaport noted Puryear's engagement with contemporary issues through object-making in his studio practice. The exhibition represents a significant institutional partnership for the prestigious international art event.