Sculptural and tastefully decorative, Paul Evans’s Patchwork cabinet is an audacious exploration of the several styles for which the furniture maker is known. A sideboard that Evans (1931–87) produced for Directional — a North Carolina furniture manufacturing company that became the catalyst for some of Evans’s most well-known designs — the cabinet’s clean lines and simple silhouette belie the maker’s mid-century influence, while its rough-hewn texture and traditional craftsmanship are nods to brutalism and the American Arts and Crafts movement. An enthusiastic and skilled metalworker, Evans produced the Patchwork collection, which essentially began as wooden boxes, with “patchwork” copper, brass and pewter coming together with nails. The series includes cabinets, sideboards, coffee tables and more.
The New Jersey-born Evans was raised in Pennsylvania, but he left in the 1950s for the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School for American Craftsmen in New York. Later, he ventured to the famed Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, where he studied sculpture, metalwork, furniture design and jewelry-making. Evans found his way back to Pennsylvania, where he eventually began to collaborate with Directional, which produced his Cityscape, Sculpted Bronze, Argente and Patchwork furniture series. In addition to the cabinet, Evans created hundreds of pieces for the Patchwork line from 1964 through the 1970s. Each one is signed and dated, ensuring the authenticity of its handmade nature, a detail upon which the maker was insistent. These pieces, along with the rest of Evans’s work, are still in high demand and count a number of high-profile clients, from famous musicians to design enthusiasts, as collectors.
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 Sculptural Art Metal Cabinet Model 'PE-40A', Signed & Dated 1974
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in Los Angeles, CA
An exceptional and monumental cabinet, model PE-40A, designed by American sculptor and furniture master Paul Evans for Directional, signed and dated 1974. This important example repr...
Slate, Steel
Paul Evans 'PE-32' Patchwork Copper Cabinet with Slate Top for Directional, 1968
By Directional, Paul Evans
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Stunning 'PE-32' copper clad bar cabinet on casters by Paul Evans for Directional, produced in 1968 per original receipt which we have a copy of...
Brass, Copper, Pewter
Signed Pia Manu Brutalist Ceramic Relief Sideboard Credenza w Smoked Glass Top
By Pia Manu
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This exceptional Brutalist sideboard was produced by Pia Manu in Belgium during the 1960s / 70s and exemplifies the studio's celebrated fusion of art, sculpture, and furniture design...
Steel
'Taliesin' Model #2005 Special Cabinet by Frank Lloyd Wright, 1955, Signed
By Frank Lloyd Wright, Heritage-Henredon
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This gorgeously refinished Honduran Mahogany 'Taliesin' Model #2005 Special Cabinet on Stand was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for Heritage-Henredon in 1955 and produced only for two years, therefore is now a highly sought-after and rare collectors item and this particular cabinet design being one of the most sought after of the entire collection. This example is signed with the red Taliesin symbol on the back along with its stamped model #2005. This rare Frank Lloyd Wright cabinet features the rare sought after architectural base with equally rare and sought after two door cabinet with concentric square designs on doors. Inside the cabinet is a removable shelf. The cabinet can be removed from the base as can be seen in the photos. Frank Lloyd Wright stated that one of his goals for this line was for the 'design to make the home more efficient as well as more beautiful'. Woven into each piece of this series was the chamfered wood edge with an abstracted Greek key motif, the signature detail of every Taliesin design, covering the edges of each item in the collection. All of the pieces were executed in Honduran Mahogany, a high-end luxury wood choice. His idea was to design ‘infinite adaptability to American living’, for example desks could double as dressing tables, small tables could be used as a chair or stool and bookcases had moveable tops transforming into room dividers. Decoration was limited to the greek key edges so that ‘is of the piece, not on it’ and the removal of elimination of any hardware door or drawer pulls in favor of cut out flush pulls which ‘catch light and shadow for interesting and changing patterns’. Wright pitched three separate concepts to Heritage Henredon: ‘Burberry’, ‘Honeycomb’ and ‘Four Square’ which was the one chosen to go into production and renamed ‘Taliesin’ after Wrights Wisconsin home. A distinguishing feature of the Taliesin line is that each piece is identified with a branded signature which was often accompanied by a red square. No other items from the rest of Wright's career is marked or identified which makes this line more desirable to collectors. This particular cabinet design recently broke auction records for its model - demonstrating the rarity and desirability of Frank Lloyd Wright's work along with the uniqueness of this cabinet design and demand from art and design collectors and investors, along with the interior design community. This beautiful Frank Lloyd Wright Taleisin cabinet would work great in a Craftsman, Farm House, Monterey, Spanish, Mission, Arts & Crafts, Mid-Century Modern, Scandanavian Modern or Danish Modern home or penthouse apartment but could also look fantastic in a Contemporary or Post-Modern room. Also consider mixing it up in a Traditional, Transitional, Classical or Art Deco room with a splash of juxtaposition. Would also be an apt choice in a commercial project such as a hotel lobby lounge or members club, creative design studio or high-rise executive office. Consider using as a small blanket chest, a dry bar for liquor...
Mahogany
Paul Evans 'PE-31' Patchwork Copper and Slate Cube Table for Directional, c 1967
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Stunning 'PE-31' patchwork copper table by Paul Evans for Directional, produced in circa 1967. The cube shaped form is fabricated from patinated pieces of copper, bronze, and pewter which have been welded and nailed in a patchwork style pattern resting on top of a patinated steel plinth base with casters. Works fantastic as a coffee or cocktail table, or as a large end or side table. The table sits on top of casters which makes it easy to move around and relocate. The top has been fitted with slate. The fusion of these exterior materials formulates an exemplary piece which would be a welcome addition to any connoisseur's collection or high-end interior designer project. We have the matching PE-32 bar cabinet and PE-17 floating wall console with PE-18 mirror (all with Patchwork Copper) if you would like to create a matching set. We also carry other Paul Evans designs, including Cityscape, Deep-Relief, Artisan, and Sculptured Metal Collections. Contact us for more information or see our other listings for more details. This Paul Evans patchwork copper cube table...
Slate, Bronze, Copper, Pewter
Important Double Dresser by Vladimir Kagan for Kagan-Dreyfuss, 1950s, Signed
By Kagan-Dreyfuss, Inc., Vladimir Kagan
Located in Los Angeles, CA
This very rare and important sculptural double dresser was designed by Vladimir Kagan and handcrafted by Kagan-Dreyfuss Inc during the 1950s in New York. Each of the two chests are s...
Walnut
Paul Evans Deep Relief Cabinet
By Paul Evans
Located in Highland, IN
A sublime piece of functional sculpture by Paul Evans, this 1968 Deep Relief cabinet features a wall-mounted case with torch-cut, welded, polychromed and patinated steel doors concea...
Slate, Steel
Mid-Century Brutalist Wall Mounted Patchwork Cabinet Signed Paul Evans 68
By Paul Evans
Located in New York, NY
An iconic design by legendary American studio craftsman Paul Evans, this mid-century Brutalist wall-mounted cabinet exemplifies his innovative artistry and bold industrial aesthetics...
Slate, Metal
Paul Evans 'Deep Relief' Free-Standing Sideboard
By Paul Evans
Located in Waalwijk, NL
Paul Evans, Paul Evans Studio for Directional, 'Deep Relief' sideboard, model 'PE-42', welded steel, enameled patchwork steel, painted oak, cleft slate, United States, 1968 An excep...
Slate, Steel
Paul Evans Mid Century Deep Relief Cabinet Credenza
By Paul Evans
Located in Franklin Park, IL
Paul Evans Mid Century Deep Relief Cabinet Credenza This credenza measures: 96.75 wide x 20.5 deep x 32 inches high All pieces of furniture can be had in what we call restored vint...
Wood
Patchwork Wavy Slate Metal Steel Riveted Cabinet Credenza Paul Evans Style
By Paul Evans
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Amazing vintage 1980s steel riveted wave wave patchwork black cabinet, credenza, bar with slate top. Unfortunately, I was not able to find any information regarding the maker of this...
Slate, Steel
Deep Relief Steel Front Sideboard Cabinet PE-42 by Paul Evans
By Paul Evans
Located in Atlanta, GA
A large and stunning sculpted-front cabinet by Paul Evans (1931-1987), model PE-42, made in 1970 in his studio for Directional. The model was one of the largest case pieces made by P...
Slate, Steel
