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On loan from Debra Simon. Label Type
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“My feeling was the world might be better if I put up my protests.”
Self-taught artist Purvis Young draws attention to the challenges faced by underrepresented urban communities, including racism, violence, and drug abuse. Central to his work is Overtown, a historic black neighborhood in Miami, Florida, where Young lived most of his life. Once a thriving community, in the 20th c. Overtown became increasingly isolated and neglected in the wake of Miami’s urban renewal campaigns. Young made his works using scraps of paper, wood, fabric, and various industrial items he found at construction and trash sites in Overtown. His distinctive style combines these raw materials with expressive brushwork and a visual vocabulary that often features protesters, pregnant women, horses, enslaved figures, warriors, and large, looming eyes. Claiming “I paint what I see,” Young’s artworks manifest his personal experiences in Overtown. They also stress the significance of themes such as death, adversity, and hope to all humanity.