Sophisticated Fall Shows at SFMOMA Cater to Diverse Tastes

“Martin Puryear” exhibit at SFMOMA, a retrospective of the artist’s abstract sculptures, located in the fifth-floor gallery, looks like a giant playground, or an alternative reality with its own time, space, and architecture. Most works are created of wood, and the warmth of the material, its naturally inviting quality, and its touchability immediately transports a visitor into a land of childhood memories and playful promises. Not that Puryear’s sculptures are lighthearted or deprived of serious context—to the contrary, many of them bare multi-layered connotations of basic human aspirations, hopes, and disappointments, and references to African-American history, its prominent figures, and psyche-forming events. Puryear mostly relies on his artwork to deliver a story, supplementing his pieces with often vague or half-pronounced titles, but this absence of didactic approach grants the viewers an invaluable freedom of interpretation. Two other shows just opened and not to be missed are “The Art of Participation: 1950 to Now” which explores the decades of participatory art, created with a help of the public, and “Passageworks: Contemporary Art from the Collection,” featuring related artwork from the permanent collection, brought together for a stunning display of passages and passageways, perceived by the greatest names in contemporary art. “Martin Puryear” runs through January 25, 2009; “The Art of Participation” through February 8, and “Passageworks” through January 19. Image: Martin Puryear, Ladder for Booker T. Washington, 1996.