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.
$10,400
H 28.5 in W 63 in D 19 in
Original Paul Evans Cityscape Dining Table or Console Table Base, 1970s
By Paul Evans
Located in Miami, FL
Paul Evans Cityscape dining or console table base with brushed steel and burlwood patchwork veneer. Signed. The base does not include a glass top and the base can be used either as...
Metal
Cityscape Dining Table Base Only by Paul Evans Published Model
By Paul Evans
Located in Atlanta, GA
An unusual table as part of the cityscape series by Paul Evans for Directional. Constructed with chrome plated cubes and lacquered surface and it is currently shown with a 42 by 84 glass top and functions as a dining table. However, it is in a very versatile size to accommodate glass tops of a wide range of sizes and shapes so it can also functions as a striking center table, or a console table. Table base only...
Chrome
$7,644 / item
H 29.93 in W 70.87 in D 35.44 in
Customizable Sculptural Brutalist Dining Table by Sergio Vulpe
Located in Burlăceni, Cahul District
This monumental dining table is a bold expression of brutalist solid oak, handcrafted with sculptural precision by Sergio Vulpe. Its monolithic presence and textural richness make it...
Oak
Exceptional Sculpted Bronze Dining Table by Paul Evans
By Paul Evans
Located in Atlanta, GA
Substantial Brutalist dining table base by Paul Evans for Directional, circa 1977. Iconic "sculpted bronze" series, with handcrafted surfac...
Bronze
Paul Evans Cityscape for Directional Pedestal Dining Table
By Paul Evans
Located in Pittsburgh, PA
Beautiful signed Paul Evans for Directional glass top Cityscape pedestal dining table. Features a black lacquered wood plinth/pedestal with brass patchwork arms in a mirrored finish ...
Brass
Paul Evans PE-509 Cityscape Dining Table by Directional, 1970s
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in Raleigh, NC
Paul Evans PE-509 dining table from the Cityscape series, executed entirely in chrome patchwork. Geometric metal panels in varied rectangular shapes create the signature skyline-ins...
Chrome
Paul Evans Bow-Tie Dining Table
By Paul Evans
Located in Savannah, GA
Bow-tie dining table from the Sculptured Metal series made for Directional in 1970. A variation of this design is published in Paul Evans: Designer and Sculptor, Head, pg. 79. weld...
Steel
Brutalist Dining Table by Adrian Pearsall c. 1960
By Adrian Pearsall
Located in Dallas, TX
Designed by Adrian Pearsall, this sculptural brutalist dining table or desk is an impressive piece! Produced by Craft Associated, circa 1960's. Paying homage to Paul Evans “Sculpted ...
Glass, Resin, Wood
$9,800
H 29.5 in W 78 in D 48 in
Brutalist Cast Metal Geometric Dining Table in the Manner of Paul Evans
By Paul Evans
Located in Culver City, CA
This table is absolutely gorgeous. It's a cast metal body with what a cold cast bronze outer shell. This one of a kind, custom piece came out of an estate in the Pacific Palisades filled with the most incredible furniture by Paul Evans, Daniel Gluck and Italian designer pieces. Unfortunately we have been unable to identify the creator of this piece, but it is very much in the style of Paul Evans and his cold cast bronze line for Directional. The table base measures 56" L x 24" D x 28.25" T. The glass on the table base is also custom, 3/4" thick with docked corners for a very unique look when up close and personal. This table is remarkably sturdy, and very heavy. This unique table would also look incredible as a writing desk. This incredible table is currently in the gallery paired with like designer pieces by Paul Evans, and Silas Seandel, but would also look wonderful paired with more contemporary pieces like Milo Baughman thin line chairs...
Metal, Bronze
'Cityscape' by Paul Evans Dining Table with Leaf
By Paul Evans
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Polished chrome patchwork table by Paul Evans for his Cityscape line. Comes with a 15" leaf. (Please confirm item location - NY or NJ - with dealer).
Metal
Paul Evans Sculpted Bronze Skyline Coffee Table
By Paul Evans
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Paul Evans sculpted bronze brutalist skyline coffee table, signed PE71 Glass top is 3/4" thick, 28" deep and 55" wide. Base is 15" high, 28" deep...
Bronze
Brutalist Bronze Sculpture by Ralph Tazian
By Paul Evans
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Brutalist bronze sculpture on a mahogany base by Laguna Beach based artist Ralph Tazian
Bronze
Brutalist Ceramic Wall Sculpture
By David Cressey
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Brutalist ceramic wall sculpture framed in wood and signed THK
Ceramic
Brutalist Architectural Door Panel or Wall Decoration
By Paul Evans
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Brutalist cast aluminum sculpture that can be attached to your existing door or be hang above the fireplace or on the wall just like featured in Architectural Digest Magazine.
Aluminum
Max Finkelstein Brutalist Welded Sculpture
By Max Finkelstein 1
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Max Finkelstein brutalist welded and hammered brass sculpture in heavy patina. Signed Finkelstein 64
Brass
Brutalist Door Panel or Wall Decoration
By Paul Evans
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Cast aluminum brutalist wall decoration or door panel. Can be attached to your existing door or just hang on the wall. Similar item was featured on Architectural Digest magazine.
Aluminum
