murals

Purvis Young was a born muralist. Even to this day, the recreation of his large scale projects continue at museums and art fairs around the world. It was Goodbread Alley, Young’s first Miami mural, a multi city block installation, that came to define the artist’s boldness in all matters, creative and commerce. As seen in the photos below, the artist’s commitment to these large scale projects remained steadfast throughout his career. Young’s murals continue to be celebrated as cultural centerpieces.

Located on East side of Miami/Overtown I-95 corridor
created c.2016 ; disassembled c.2018
Located on East side of Miami/Overtown I-95 corridor created c.2016 ; disassembled c.2018
Mural created in 1996 for the front of The Setai Miami Beach, FL  during construction (subsequently disassembled or destroyed)
Outdoor installation at House of Blues located in Disney World Orlando, FL
created c.1998 ; disassembled c.2005
"Everyday Life", created in 1984 Culmer Overtown Branch Library, Miami-Dade Public Library (still intact)
Photo: Daniel Fuller

Miami Metrorail mural -
enamel paint over treated surface,
1986 - present

Located at Northside Metrorail Station: 3150 NW 79 Street Miami, FL
Growing up near the Northside Metrorail Station, I had the privilege of encountering his massive 1986 mural on a nearly daily basis. Located on the interior of the station’s entrance wall, and is best viewed from the escalators as well as the station’s mid-level platform. The mural is dedicated to the workers who built the Metrorail, and is a fantastic documentation in a unique period of Miami’s urban development. Above the mural is a short horizontal banner featuring human figures walking across, and the expansive space is dynamic and invigorating. Train tracks and concrete columns form vertical and horizontal axes; the painting is overcrowded with trucks, human figures, and horses (symbols of freedom). Overall, there exists a frenetic sense of movement amid the muddied colors. While there is no clear destination for one to direct their eyes, there is an undeniable sense of exhilaration.   MiamiDade.gov website > 1984 – still intact 

The Purvis Young Artcar
painted 1996 - still intact

“A coup-de-grace. An innate sense of the most formal elements of art. Color and line are handled with seasonal finesse. Balance and unity abound, where images segue from sides to hood, to roof to bumpers, in the smoothest of transition.” Art Beat, Arnold Simon, Critic

Specifications:
Make: Datsun
Model: #411
Designer: Pinan Farina, Italy
Year: 1964 (Design), 1967 (Release)
I.D.#: RL411-007516
Body: 4-door Sedan
Engine: 4 cylinder
Weight: Approx. 2,000 lbs.
Dimensions:
– Length 158″
– Height 56″
– Width 58″
Comments: Car’s exterior treated for rust spots prior to artist painting on it. Interior is black vinyl and is in impeccable condition. The engine is in running order. The automobile was the centerpiece to Young’s One Man Exhibition entitled Paper & Metal which took place March 1997 at The Museum of New Arts, Ft. Lauderdale, FL and Boca Raton Museum of Art Retrospective, 2005

photo: Jeff Seldin, copyright Skot Foreman

The Goodbread Alley mural -
Miami Wynwood, FL
1972-1975

After learning of the “Freedom Walls” created by artists in Detroit and Chicago, Young decided in 1972 to create his own public mural at the intersection of Northwest Third Avenue and 14 Street in Overtown, Miami‘s inner-city. Coined “Goodbread Alley,” the installation was visible from the newly constructed Interstate 95, which had all but completely dissected and consequently isolated his community from the rest of South Florida. This remarkably complex work, born of a colossal outpouring of spontaneous creative energy, was directly attached in a collage manner to the sides of three defunct, abandoned buildings (formerly serving to house the Bahamian Baking Industry) which Young managed as superintendent after the industry had moved out and a laundry company had taken its place. The entire project was threatened with destruction in 1975, when HUD condemned the buildings in order to use the site for public housing. Most of the work was lost or destroyed as HUD crews condemned and tore the buildings down. Please contact the gallery for further information about the few select panels which fortunately survived.