June 27, 2023—CHICAGO—Friday, June 30, Intuit opens Purvis Young: Works on Paper and Recent Acquisitions, two exhibitions that showcase new additions to the museum’s growing collection. The exhibitions will run through Labor Day, after which Intuit will close to the public to begin renovations to its facility.
Purvis Young (American, 1942–2010) was a self-taught artist who recorded and portrayed the everyday lives, stories, woes and systemic traumas of the Black experience that he was a part of and a witness to in the Overtown neighborhood of Miami, where he lived and where his art flourished. His artistic career began in the late 1960s after he spent a brief period in prison, during which he learned about and was inspired by murals in Chicago and Detroit. He began to produce public art projects that soon garnered him wide recognition and mural commissions in Miami.
Young’s legacy extends beyond these public art projects, as he drew inspiration from his surroundings to create more than 3,000 artworks. The materials he used, such as wood scraps, paper, Masonite, plywood and found books—like his subject matter—he sourced from his community. Purvis Young: Works on Paper offers an intimate glimpse at the work the artist made using paper, a material frequently employed in his oeuvre. This exhibition celebrates the donation of these pieces to Intuit from the Daniel Aubry Collection.
In addition to the newly gifted Purvis Young works, Intuit displays pieces by artists William Dawson, Lee Godie and Mose Tolliver, among others, in the exhibition Recent Acquisitions. The works of art in this exhibition demonstrate the museum’s commitment to growing and enriching its collection, which was established in 2002 and has grown to more than 1,300 artworks.
Purvis Young: Works on Paper and Recent Acquisitions open to the public with free admission on Friday, June 30, and an opening reception that evening, 5–8 p.m. These exhibitions will conclude on Labor Day, after which Intuit will close to the public to begin the renovation of its existing 150-year-old historic building into a modern, accessible museum, tentatively scheduled to reopen summer 2024.
About Intuit
Intuit champions the diverse voices of self-taught art, welcoming both new and familiar audiences. Intuit presents the work of self-taught artists—also known as outsider art. These artists typically work outside the mainstream and may have faced societal, economic or geographic barriers to a traditional path of art making. By presenting a diversity of artistic voices, Intuit builds a bridge from art to audiences.
