Leonid Purygin was born in 1951 in Narofominsk, outside of Moscow. He repeatedly tried to enter the All-Russia Institute of Folk Art. In the early 1970s he took part in an «apartment» exhibition organized by Glezer and Rabin. Around the same time he joined a group of artists who were working in the genre of conceptual art, including Orlov and Prigov.
The art of Purygin is informed by Russian folk art, European mythology, and his personal mysticism. His compositions resemble a theater of fantasy. His art is part of a world of bright holiday images and a magical reality. His work borders on surrealist, while retaining elements of classical naive art.
The work stemming from his American period is highly intellectual and politicized, representing a distinct shift from his earlier work. Purygin died in Moscow in 1995.
