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Listen to the music of a wailing horn or a screaming guitar riff. Feel the rhythm of Jazz and the emotion of The Blues, for it’s readily apparent in Purvis Young’s work. Moving ever so freely, each figure in a painting becomes a note on the scale of humanity, driven by the sounds of Miles, Monk and Bird. Whether arms are raised in celebration or protest, people are in a line to somewhere. Perhaps they are going to a wedding or funeral reception or maybe even up and down the stairs to the slave masters’ block. Always flowing ever so gently up and down the painting.

Such is the range of emotions and subject matter in Purvis Young: 1969 - 2000; A 30+ Year Painting Retrospective, now showing at the Hurn Museum of Contemporary Folk Art in Savannah through July 31. A concurrent drawings show is open at Skot Foreman Fine Art in Atlanta. The exhibit represents a kaleidoscopic view of one of folk art's most significant and acclaimed artists.

"The artist Purvis Young is all about the Real," said Skot Foreman of Skot Foreman Fine Art. "He lives in a modern age of web sites, world-class museum exhibitions and pop culture notoriety. While firmly entrenched in the present, however, the world he inhabits is timeless…his vision is part ancient civilization, part yet to come."

One can certainly tell that this artist has a lot to say. There are many themes in Young’s work, mainly because he came of age in the 1960s in inner city Miami, which served as a refuge for freedom seekers — people fleeing from Cuba and Haiti, as well as African American people. The city was gripped by the ravages of the Vietnam war and race riots. Consequently, Young’s work portrays the racism, strife and emotion that were prevalent during those times.

"He was deeply affected by the changes around him," says Foreman. "His work shows that he contemplated the role of authority amidst the oppressed."

Young was inspired to become an artist while serving time in a Miami prison for a breaking and entering charge. A Raiford Prison guard went against regulations and gave Young a pen and pad, encouraging him to keep his hands busy and to do something positive. Upon release, Young flourished in his new life outside of prison. He immersed himself in the humanities and history, concentrating particularly on biographies and art books ranging from El Greco to Van Gogh.

Many of Young's works show a perspective of being behind prison bars. Others depict his profound sense of spirituality — a combination of his Baptist roots with the Haitian voodoo rituals and Catholic ceremonies that are ever-present in his neighborhood.

Using bold staccato brush strokes, Young gives viewers a sense of constant motion in his works. One of the most recurring figures in his works, the horse, is always portrayed as the powerful and beautiful icon that he never saw while growing up in the ghetto. Yet, the horses are always gracefully galloping or trotting somewhere, representing the power and beauty of what Young could only imagine life could have.

He also uses a mixture of found materials in his work. Nothing goes to waste. In fact, he often drew and painted on the backs of invoices or receipts. What might seem as a lack of formality only brings another dimension of the reality that has been his life.

"The work is historically important, as it reflects the nature of its time, " says Foreman. "The art of Purvis Young connects us all. (We need to) acknowledge that connection."

-from the cover story A Line to Somewhere by Katy Griggs
in the May/June 2005 issue of the "Museums and Galleries" Atlanta fine arts guide.