Purvis Young (1943 - 2010)

Angel and Boats | Circa 1980's | Acrylic on board | 49 x 48 x 1 in

Purvis Young creates art from a gut instinct, using materials found from the streets of Miami’s inner city. The resulting work constitutes powerful and honest art of the last thirty years. Young’s work expresses his heartfelt concern for his community’s roots and lifelong friends. The abundance of pregnant women populating the neighborhood, the hustle, bustle and chaos in the street, the infusion of boat people, the trucks passing above on the elevated interstate, funerals, celebrations, wars, soldiers, and Blues music men populate his oeuvre.

This triangular composition elongates the angelic figure in the center while giving linear exaggerations to the rolling waves that toss the boats that long for safe passage.

Slaves Ships guided by divine intervention making their journey to eternal peace and away from the suffering of colonial capitalism, captivate the imagination of this great and beloved Florida artist.