University at Buffalo (UB)
Philip Pavia: Drawings and Small Sculptures
Philip Pavia: Drawings and Small Sculptures, 2020, installation view, University at Buffalo Art Galleries. Photo: Nando Alvarez-Perez.
As a leading sculptor in the American postwar movement, Philip Pavia (1912-2005) was passionate in his belief that sculpture could produce breakthrough visual dynamics that might parallel the achievements made by the avant-garde action painters of his generation. He would chisel, lean, and stack marble blocks, suggesting movement in bold, gravity-defying compositions referred to as “scatterings.”
Organized in conjunction with the unveiling of East Pediment, Sun-up (1965-66), a large-scale, outdoor sculpture recently installed on UB’s North campus, Drawings and Small Sculptures documents Pavia’s process. Pavia’s sketches are presented as ideal counterpoints to the carved stone and bronze sculptures, they are not exact studies for sculptures, but they are related forms and ideas. Pavia described them as “butterfly thoughts” that passed through his mind.
This exhibition is curated by Robert Scalise, Director, UB Art Galleries. Special thanks to Natalie Edgar for her guidance and generosity throughout this project. Installation of East Pediment, Sun up is part of a larger plan to increase public art on campus, an initiative being overseen by the UB Public Art Committee. Generous support for the installation was provided by The President’s Circle.