Paul Evans Rare Inset Slate Top Patinated Metal Patchwork Breakfast Center Table
View Similar Items
Paul Evans Rare Inset Slate Top Patinated Metal Patchwork Breakfast Center Table
About the Item
- Creator:Directional (Manufacturer),Paul Evans (Designer)
- Dimensions:Height: 28.5 in (72.39 cm)Width: 36 in (91.44 cm)Depth: 36 in (91.44 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1970s
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Philadelphia, PA
- Reference Number:Seller: JYA1stDibs: LU1273227322882
Paul Evans
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.
Directional
A brand known to vintage mid-century modern furniture collectors everywhere, Directional Furniture opened its doors after American furniture designer Paul McCobb created the high-end Directional Modern line of sofas distributed by the New York–based Modernage Company.
In his pivotal introduction of postwar modernism to the mass market, the revered Massachusetts-born McCobb had established several lines, from the affordable and refined Planner Group for Winchendon to the swooping and unexpected arms of the Symmetric Group for Widdicomb, a Shaker-inspired collection that included a sofa and a lounge chair. Like all of McCobb’s designs, the Directional pieces for Modernage are defined by a sleek aesthetic in which the focus is on elegant functionality, frequently using fine materials such as brass and walnut. In 1949, in partnership with New York furniture salesman B.G. Mesberg, McCobb set up the Directional Furniture Company.
The pair’s first pieces were upholstered chairs, intended to harmonize with the modular Multiplex pieces designed by Martin Feinman. McCobb then designed an array of furniture including storage, dining, seating, desks and other pieces with details such as leather tops, wood finishes and Roman Travertine surfaces. While Directional stopped production of McCobb’s work in the early 1960s, it still released numerous pieces by leading designers manufactured by a variety of companies.
Designer Paul Evans led the factory for a time after joining in 1964. His provocative work for the company often reflected his understanding of materials from his early training as a silversmith, such as the popular Cityscape series — a milestone in brutalist design — with its blocky forms accented with brass and chrome. At his shop in Lambertville, New Jersey, he collaborated with a design team to clad furniture pieces in metallic surfaces, like the Argente line that began production in 1968 and involved an acetylene torch to give its aluminum material a textural quality. He also worked on the Sculpted Bronze series with hand-formed resin shaped over plywood or steel that was then coated with atomized bronze.
Other Directional designers included Vladimir Kagan, who contributed biomorphic sofas and swivel chairs; Milo Baughman, who created tables and dressers inspired by Scandinavian modernism; and Jack Lenor Larsen, who covered sofas in dynamically patterned fabric.
Find authentic Directional Furniture seating, tables, case pieces and storage cabinets from top sellers around the world on 1stDibs.
- Paul Evans Directional 4 Rare Patchwork Chairs Patinated Brass Steel LeatheretteBy Directional, Paul EvansLocated in Philadelphia, PAA super rare set of four original condition and signed Paul Evans for Directional patchwork chairs on castors. Clad in patinated brass, atop welded and enameled steel bases, upholste...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Dining Room Chairs
MaterialsBrass, Steel
- Paul Evans for Directional Brutalist Patchwork Coffee Table with Original GlassBy Directional, Paul EvansLocated in Philadelphia, PADesigned by Paul Evans and built by his studio for Directional, this piece is part of the iconic Patchwork line. Made of a solid wood frame, it is overlaid with many panels of copper...Category
Vintage 1970s American Brutalist Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBronze, Copper, Steel, Pewter
- Paul Evans Patchwork Brutalist Coffee or Cocktail Table for DirectionalBy Paul EvansLocated in Philadelphia, PAWonderful patchwork coffee table by the iconic Paul Evans. This table is comprised of welded copper, bronze and steel. Evans designed this table for Directional in the 1970'sCategory
Mid-20th Century North American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail T...
MaterialsMetal
- Mid-Century Modern Paul Evans Square Cube Patchwork Cocktail Table or End TableBy Paul EvansLocated in Philadelphia, PAPaul Evans studio square patchwork cube table circa early 1960's in New Hope PA. It features copper, bronze and pewter cladding in a patchwork design. In very good well cared for co...Category
Vintage 1960s American Brutalist Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSlate, Bronze, Copper, Pewter
- Mid Century Paul Evans Cityscape Wall Mirror & Console Table Shelf in ChromeBy Paul Evans, DirectionalLocated in Philadelphia, PAAn incredible design combination, a cityscape wall shelf and mirror designed by Paul Evans in the 1970's. The set features fine heavy construction with chrome clad patchwork design. ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Console Tables
MaterialsChrome
- Mid Century Paul Evans Cityscape Floating Shelf or Console Table Glass & BrassBy Paul Evans, DirectionalLocated in Philadelphia, PAAn incredible design, a cityscape wall shelf designed by Paul Evans in the 1970's. The set features fine heavy construction with brass clad patchwork design. Includes two L shaped wa...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Shelves
MaterialsBrass
- Brutalist Paul Evans Patinated Patchwork Coffee Table with Slate TopBy Paul EvansLocated in New York, NYBrutalist American Modern 1970s Paul Evans for Directional patinated patchwork metal coffee table with riveted copper, brass, and pewter sheet...Category
Mid-20th Century American Brutalist Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSlate, Copper, Pewter
- Paul Evans Patchwork Metal and Slate Coffee TableBy Paul EvansLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis stunning Mid-Century table uses a combination of patchwork hammered metal to create a stunning effect. Vintage slate top wonderfully compliments the piece, while low profile cas...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Large Paul Evans Slate-Top Patchwork Coffee TableBy Paul EvansLocated in Middlesex, NJLarge Paul Evans slate-top patchwork coffee table.Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsMetal
- Fabulous Paul Evans Brutalist Metal Patchwork Coffee Table Signed Slate TopBy Paul EvansLocated in Pemberton, NJVery handsome Paul Evans patchwork metal coffee table. The top has a textured piece of heavy slate in wonderful vintage condition. The base is a variety of metals patchworked togethe...Category
Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSlate, Copper
- Large Slate Top Patchwork Coffee Table by Paul EvansBy Paul EvansLocated in Palm Springs, CABrutalist patchwork coffee table with slate top by Paul Evans. The base is a variety of metals patchworked together to create an amazing mosaic of color and texture. Table measures ...Category
Vintage 1970s American Brutalist Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsSlate, Copper
- Paul Evans Patchwork Coffee TableBy Paul Evans, DirectionalLocated in Asbury Park, NJWonderful patchwork coffee table by the iconic Paul Evans. This table is comprised of welded copper, bronze and steel. Evans designed this table for Directional in the 1970's. This t...Category
Vintage 1970s North American Mid-Century Modern Coffee and Cocktail Tables
MaterialsBronze, Copper, Steel