Stemming from a “fortuitous” series of events six months ago, the Des Moines Art Center was able to rearrange its exhibit schedule – normally booked up at least two years in advance – and accommodate a traveling exhibit of organic, free-form sculptures.

The exhibit, titled “Martin Puryear,” was originally intended to end its four-stop tour at the Seattle Art Museum, said Jeff Fleming, senior curator of the Des Moines Art Center.

“But Seattle pulled out, which was very fortuitous for us,” he said.

Through word-of-mouth from a few art directors and curators, and some quick logistical arrangements, the Des Moines center was able to secure the exhibition, Fleming said.

Mixing wood, tar and wire-mesh into mysterious and captivating forms is what has made Martin Puryear one of the most recognizable sculptors of our time.

In one of the first major U.S. exhibitions of his work in more than a decade, Puryear – named “America’s Best Artist” by Time magazine – displays nine of his large-scale pieces taken from both public and private collections, some of which are being exhibited for the first time.

“The show is extraordinary for a variety of reasons,” Fleming said. “Puryear’s level of perfection is unmatched in contemporary art.”

Flemming said another aspect of Puryear’s art lies in the that fact Puryear doesn’t explain his pieces to the public; he lets people form their own ideas, thoughts and emotions about the art.

The exhibition will feature pieces from Puryear’s classic laminated wood sculptures, his woven and lattice pieces, and a selection of his wire-mesh and tar artifacts.

“Meticulously crafted by hand, Puryear’s abstract works suggest a range of organic and animal forms, as well as artifacts such as vessels, nets and pre-industrial tools,” said Margo A. Crutchfield, exhibit organizer.

Crutchfield, former associate curator of the modern and contemporary art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, said Puryear draws on a rich diversity of cultures and an immense visual vocabulary.

Native American, African, Scandinavian, Japanese and Arctic influences are all visible in his work.

Born in 1941, Puryear graduated with a degree in painting from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. in 1963.

Serving then as a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa, Puryear honed his woodworking and carpentry skills while working as a teacher.

Stopping off in Stockholm, Puryear studied printmaking and began to dabble in sculpture, Scandinavian wood design, cabinetry and furniture making.

By the late 1960s, he returned to the United States and began studying sculpture full-time at Yale University. Upon earning his M.F.A. degree in 1971, Puryear taught at Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn.

Crutchfield organized the event at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, where the exhibit debuted.

Puryear helped kick off the exhibit Feb. 1 that will be on display at the Des Moines Art Center through April 14 with an onstage interview with Susan Talbott, director of the art center. Discussing his career and art, Puryear filled an auditorium and a satellite room with a 400-plus capacity crowd.