The Sculptural and Metal Furniture of Paul Evans!

We admit it: the first time we ever came across a Paul Evans piece we were less than impressed. It was one of his dining tables, and the base was a loud, wild mix of crazy metal shapes and metallic colors. It wasn’t our particular cup of tea. But, one of the perks of writing for the lovely Swank Lighting blog is getting to experience a number of design styles, and we started noticing that we were falling in love with one particular line from a designer called “Cityscapes.” Imagine our surprise when we realized the designer of our favorite “Cityscapes” line was the same as the wild metal base dining table! That example just goes to illustrate the across-the-board talent Paul Evans possesses.

Though the pieces designed by Evans in his long career come in lots of different shapes, colors and styles, two of the elements that tie all of his work together are his use of metal and his great sculptural style. All of his work is quite functional, but also always works as amazing sculptural art, as well. From dining tables, to coffee tables, to bookshelves, credenzas, lighting and even chairs, all of Evans’ work is both unique and recognizable.

Originally from Newton, Pennsylvania, Evans attended many schools during the 1950s, racking up all kinds of knowledge and experience, like the Philadelphia Textile Institute, the Rochester Institute of Technology the School for American Craftsmen and even Cranbrook Academy of Art. His career began at that same time with him creating copper chests, but he soon moved on to making cabinets with sculpted steel fronts. His work at this time was certainly noticed by design lovers, and he even had a show in 1961 at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York (known as the Museum of Contemporary Crafts at the time). His big break came in 1964 when he was invited to become the lead designer for popular furniture manufacturer Directional Furniture. This led to a long and fruitful career of furniture making, eventually going on to produce several popular furniture lines like his Argente line, Sculpted Bronze line and his most famous (and our favorite) Cityscape line of furniture and accessories.

Though Evans is known and revered for his furniture designs, he was also known as a fan of handmade art and furniture, and he took it on as his mission to ensure that every piece created at Directional Furniture was made by hand and supervised by the artist at each step of the process. This dedication to uniqueness, quality and handicraft was ahead of its time, and has really become the model for the limited edition art furniture that you see popular in certain circles of today. Making Evans pieces even more valuable is that he strove to sign and date each one of his furniture creations. Evans’ furniture might not be your tastes at first glance (remember, he designed through the 1980s) but give his work a shot—we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!