A designer and sculptor, Paul Evans was a wild card of late 20th century modernism. A leading light of the American Studio Furniture movement, Evans’s sideboards, credenzas, coffee tables and other work manifests a singular aesthetic sense, as well as a seemingly contradictory appreciation for both folk art forms and for new materials and technologies.
Evans’s primary material was metal, not wood, which was favored by his fellow studio designers, and Bucks County, Pennsylvania, neighbors George Nakashima and Phillip Lloyd Powell. He trained in metallurgy and studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, the famed crucible of modern design and art in suburban Detroit. For a time early in his career, Evans also worked at Sturbridge Village, a historical “living museum” in Massachusetts, where he gave demonstrations as a costumed silversmith.
Evans’s earliest work unites these influences. The pieces that made his reputation are known as “sculpted-front” cabinets: wood cases faced with box-like high-relief patinated steel mounts laid out in a grid pattern. Each mount contains a metal emblem, or glyph, and the effect is that of a brawny quilt.
Evans’s later work falls into three distinct style groups. His sculpted-bronze pieces, begun in the mid-1960s, show Evans at his most expressive. He employed a technique in which resin is hand-shaped, and later sprayed with a metal coating, allowing for artistic nuance in the making of chairs, tables and case pieces. Later in the decade and into the 1970s, Evans produced his Argente series for celebrated manufacturer Directional (a brand known to vintage mid-century modern furniture collectors everywhere): consoles and other furniture forms that feature aluminum and pigment-infused metal surfaces welded into abstract organic forms and patterns.
Last, Evans's Cityscape design series — a milestone in the history of brutalist design — meshed perfectly with the sleek, “high tech” sensibility of the later ’70s. Evans constructed boxy forms and faced them with irregular mosaic patterns that mixed rectangular plaques of chromed steel, bronze or burlwood veneer. These, like all of Paul Evans’s designs, are both useful and eye-catching. But their appeal has another, more visceral quality: these pieces have clearly been touched by an artist’s hand.
Find a collection of authentic Paul Evans furniture today on 1stDibs.
Paul Evans & Phillip Lloyd Powell, Very Rare, Walnut and Pewter Bottle
By Paul Evans, Phillip Lloyd Powell
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This is a very rare bottle. Only 5 were made because it was very difficult to make. This one was a gift to one of our clients.
Pewter
"Salt & Pepper Set" Paul Evans, Pewter, Danish, Mid-Century Modern
By Paul Evans
Located in Bloomfield Hills, MI
"Salt & Pepper Set" is an exquisite and rare 2-piece polished pewter set designed for Raymor in Denmark. Underside of each impressed with Pewter and Raymor ...
Pewter
$1,113 / item
H 10.63 in W 5.91 in D 7.09 in
Minimalist Vase Delaunay CS9 by Noom, Sculptural Design, Brass and Steel
By Kateryna Sokolova, NOOM
Located in Paris, FR
Delaunay vase, one of the vases from the "Suprematic" collection. The collection inspired by the geometric works of the great Suprematist Kazimir Malevich. Suprematism is a modernis...
Brass, Steel
$1,263 / item
H 14.18 in W 5.91 in D 7.09 in
Gabo Vase CS7, Sculptural Design in Copper and Steel by Noom, Minimalist
By Kateryna Sokolova, NOOM
Located in Paris, FR
Gabo vase, one of the vases from the "Suprematic" collection. Collection inspired by the geometric works of the great Suprematist Kazimir Malevich. Suprematism is a modernist moveme...
Copper, Steel
$899 / item
H 11.42 in W 7.49 in D 3.94 in
Accent Malevich Vase CS7, Minimalist, Copper and Painted Steel by Noom
By Kateryna Sokolova, NOOM
Located in Paris, FR
Malevich Vase — part of the Suprematic Collection by NOOM — is a tribute to the visionary genius of Kazimir Malevich and the bold geometry of the Suprematist movement. This early 20t...
Steel, Copper
$963 / item
H 14.97 in W 6.7 in D 3.94 in
Minimalist Vase Genke CS2, Copper and Painted Steel, Bold design by Noom
By Kateryna Sokolova, NOOM
Located in Paris, FR
Genke Vase — part of the Suprematic Collection by NOOM, designed by Kateryna Sokolova, embodies the brand’s signature fusion of contemporary, bold, sculptural design with functional ...
Copper, Steel
$1,601 / item
H 11.42 in W 7.49 in D 3.94 in
Modern Malevich Vase CSL2, Oxidized Copper and Steel, NOOM, Numbered Edition
By Kateryna Sokolova, NOOM
Located in Paris, FR
Malevich vase, one of the vases from the "Suprematic" collection. Collection inspired by the geometric works of the great Suprematist Kazimir Malevich. Suprematism is a modernist mo...
Copper, Steel
Jonas Design Salt and Pepper Shaker Set, Steel and Plastic, Modern
Located in Bochum, NRW
A particularly elegant salt and pepper set created by a contemporary designer with an appetite for the small and beautiful things in life. Beauty is not only in large household items...
Steel
Dansk Jens Quistgaard Teak Salt / Pepper Mill Denmark
By Jens Quistgaard
Located in Cincinnati, OH
A sculptural teak wood salt and pepper mill designed by the iconic Danish Mid Century artist designer Jens Quistgaard. A unique and beautiful...
Teak
$132Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 3 in W 3 in D 1.5 in
Mid-Century Pink Flamingo Ceramic Salt & Pepper Shaker Set, Lefton's Japan
Located in Van Nuys, CA
Mid-Century pink and green ceramic flamingo tabletop salt & pepper shaker set. The set features two beautifully detailed pink flamingos in lush green leaves and grass with a pink col...
Ceramic
$700
H 5.99 in W 2.76 in D 2.76 in
Japanese Colorful Antique Sake Bottle / 'Kutani Ware' / 1830-1900 / Small Vase
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
Kutani ware is a color-painted porcelain produced around Kanazawa City in the southern part of Ishikawa Prefecture, starting in 1655. It features a colorfu...
Pottery
Set of Italian Polished Pewter Salt & Pepper Shakers
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
Italian Set of Salt Shakers & Pepper Grinder in Polished Pewter, a Set of Two. This classic pair is marked Made in Italy on the bottom. Wonderful addition to add to your table for e...
Pewter
$250 / set
H 1.25 in W 5.25 in D 2 in
Vintage Danish Modern Bita Stainless Steel and Rosewood Salt & Pepper Shakers
Located in San Diego, CA
Elegant Danish Modern salt and pepper shaker set by Bita, Denmark, featuring a pair of sleek cylindrical stainless steel shakers resting on a sculptural hardwood stand. The minimalis...
Stainless Steel
$9,500
H 6.13 in W 16.13 in D 8.13 in
Paul Evans Patchwork Studio Box, Copper Bronze Pewter, Signed, 1969
By Paul Evans
Located in New York, NY
Paul Evans Patchwork Studio Box, Copper Bronze Pewter, Signed, 1969. Large scale hinged patinated mixed metal textured box with painted red wood interior and lined with orange/yellow...
Bronze, Copper, Pewter