THE SCULPTURE

–  The sculpture is a construction made from stacked blocks of stone, but it is also meant to suggest a kind of being, with an organic shape and a certain attitude, says Puryear. 

–  The opening allows people to pass through from the smoothly curved side of the work and come out through a sharply cut opening in a straight vertical wall of roughly split stone. And vice-versa.

Materials are important to Puryear, both in terms of form and context. He likes to work with materials that say something about the history, the people and the place in which the sculpture is located. Norway has a rich history of stone work and industry, which is why he wanted the sculpture to be made of stone. 

–  I felt fortunate to discover that the granite from the Iddefjord area in Norway had the color and texture I was looking for, says the artist. Iddefjord granite is also the stone used by Gustav Vigeland in the famous Vigeland Park in Oslo.

Martin Puryear is also very keen on traditional crafts.

–  I nearly always develop my sculptures by hand, either by constructing or carving.  This work began as a model carved from wood in my studio.

It is Johansen Monumenthuggeri in Sarpsborg who enlarged the shape, and cut out over 40 separate granite blocks to fit precisely together. 

–  I made several trips to Norway to maintain contact with the stone works throughout the process.

Puryear’s sculptures are often a mixture of the abstract and the figurative, evoking associations in the viewer. Sometimes this is emphasised through the title.

–  A title can help open the work of art. The title of this sculpture, Creature from Iddefjord, refers to something alive, but also to something created – either real or imagined.

MARTIN PURYEAR (b. 1941)

American artist Martin Puryear lives and works in the Hudson Valley of New York State. He is known for his interest in traditional crafts, and works in materials such as wood, metal, tar and bronze. He takes his forms from nature or from everyday utilitarian objects. Often, his works revolve around themes such as identity, culture and politics.

Puryear's works have been exhibited and purchased by museums and collections around the world. In 2019, he represented the United States at the Venice Biennale. He has made works for public spaces in many cities. The largest of these to date is the 12-metre-tall Big Bling, made of wood, netting and bronze, and erected in Madison Square Park, New York, in 2016. Its silhouette is similar to the sculpture in Bjørvika,  but it is totally different in terms of size and materials.

–  Creature from Iddefjord is a more intimate work, created to be engaged more closely by the viewer, says Puryear. And while the transparent Big Bling was not intended as a permanent work, he envisions that the granite sculpture in Bjørvika will endure for thousands of years.