NEW YORK.-MoMA presents a retrospective of the American sculptor Martin Puryear, exploring three decades of his work, on view November 4, 2007–January 14, 2008. The exhibition is organized by John Elderfield, The Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture, The Museum of Modern Art.

This retrospective of the sculpture of acclaimed American artist Martin Puryear (b. 1941) will feature 47 works that chart the development of Puryear's artistic career over the last 30 years, from his first solo museum show in 1977 to the present day. Working primarily in wood, Puryear has maintained an unwavering commitment to manual skill and traditional building methods. His forms are derived from everyday objects, both natural and man-made, including tools, vessels, and furniture. Cultural influences on his work can be traced to his study, work, and travel in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States. His sculptures are rich with psychological and intellectual references, examining issues of identity, culture, and history.

A new sculpture by Puryear will be installed in MoMA’s second-floor Donald B. and Catherine C. Marron Atrium with other Puryear sculptures, making this the first time that the Atrium will be devoted to the work of a single artist. The 2007 sculpture, as yet untitled, consists of a sapling that was harvested from the artist’s property in upstate New York.

The other sculptures expected to be installed in the Atrium by mid-October will include Ladder for Booker T. Washington (1996), a single tree split down the middle and given rungs to form a 36-foot-high ladder that narrows to just over one inch wide at the top; Greed’s Trophy (1984), a 12-foot-high net form made of wire mesh; Desire (1981), a wooden wheel measuring 16 by 32 feet attached to an 8-foot-high basket; and Some Tales (1975–78), six wooden segments of varying lengths, some of which resemble saws, spanning 30 horizontal feet of wall space.

The sculptures installed in the sixth-floor Tisch Galleries examine the chronological evolution of Puryear’s work and show how the artist refers back to earlier ideas, reinterpreting familiar themes in his works. Among these works are Puryear’s Ring series of the late 1970s, his Stereotypes and Decoys sculptures of the 1980s, the vessel-like forms of the 1990s, and the more allegorical work of recent years.

John Elderfield is The Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture, The Museum of Modern Art. He was first appointed as curator at MoMA in 1975. At MoMA, Mr. Elderfield organized the exhibitions Armando Reverón (2007) and Manet and the Execution of Maximilian (2006), and co-organized the exhibitions Matisse Picasso (2003), Modern Starts (1999), Bonnard (1998), and Piet Mondrian 1872–1944 (1995–96). He also organized the exhibitions Henri Matisse: A Retrospective (1992); Matisse in Morocco (cocurator, 1990); The Drawings of Richard Diebenkorn (1988); Morris Louis (1986); Kurt Schwitters (1985); Contrasts of Form (cocurator, 1985); The Drawings of Henri Matisse (cocurator, 1985); The Modern Drawing (1983); The Masterworks of Edvard Munch (1979); Matisse in the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art (1978–79); and The Wild Beasts: Fauvism and Its Affinities (1976). Mr. Elderfield has been responsible for the installation of the Painting and Sculpture collection for The Museum of Modern Art’s new building since 2004.

The exhibition is sponsored by CIT and by Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro. Major support is provided by The Friends of Education of The Museum of Modern Art. Additional funding is provided by the George and Joyce Wein Foundation.

The exhibition Martin Puryear will be accompanied by a publication featuring essays by Michael Auping, Chief Curator at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; John Elderfield; and Elizabeth Reede, Assistant Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture at MoMA; an interview with Puryear by Richard J. Powell, John Spencer Bassett Professor of Art and Art History at Duke University; and a chronology by Jennifer Field, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Painting and Sculpture at MoMA. Illustrations of all works in the exhibition and other comparative material are also included. The book is distributed to the trade through Distributed Art Publishers (D.A.P.) in the United States and Canada and through Thames & Hudson outside of North America. It will be available in November 2007 at MoMA Stores and online at www.momastore.org. Clothbound: 9 ½ x 12 inches; 192 pages; 130 color illustrations. Price: $60.

On Tuesday, November 13, a program with Martin Puryear, Conversations: Among Friends will be held in the Titus 2 theater, 11 W. 53 Street, at 7:00 p.m. Presented with The Friends of Education of The Museum of Modern Art—an affiliate group whose mission is to foster a greater appreciation of art created by African American artists and to encourage African American membership and participation in and throughout MoMA—the Conversations: Among Friends series explores works of art as reflections of their political and social context. John Elderfield, The Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture, The Museum of Modern Art, and organizer of the exhibition, and artist Martin Puryear discuss the work in the exhibition. Tickets are $10; members $8; students, seniors, and staff of other museums $5.

On Monday, November 26, and Thursday, November 29, Brown Bag Lunch Lectures by Jennifer Field will be held in The Lewis B. and Dorothy Cullman Education and Research Building at 4 West 54 Street, Classroom B, from 12:30 to 1:15 p.m. Attendees may bring their own lunches. Tickets are $5; $3 for members, students, and seniors.

Tickets can be purchased at the lobby information desk, the Film desk, or online at www.moma.org/thinkmodern.

MoMA AUDIO: In conjunction with the exhibition Martin Puryear, the Museum will offer a MoMA Audio program including commentary by John Elderfield. Free with Museum admission, courtesy of Bloomberg, MoMA Audio is also available for download on www.moma.org/audio and as a podcast on iTunes.

EXHIBITION WEB SITE: An accompanying Web site will feature images of each of the works in the exhibition accompanied by excerpts from the exhibition catalogue and a chronology of the artist’s life. It will be available when the show opens to the public on November 4, 2007.

TRAVEL: The exhibition will travel to three additional venues: Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas (February 24–May 18, 2008); National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (June 22–September 28, 2008); and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California (November 1, 2008–January 25, 2009).