No stranger to the long haul, Acadiana artist Francis X. Pavy celebrates 35 years of art with a retrospective of his work in the main gallery at the Acadiana Center for the Arts.
No stranger to the long haul, Acadiana artist Francis X. Pavy celebrates 35 years of art with a retrospective of his work in the main gallery at the Acadiana Center for the Arts.
A distinctive visual narrator, steeped in the unique storytelling traditions of Louisiana, the Pavy retrospective tracks the arch of his creativity from the 1970s to the present. Graduating from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1976, Pavy began his career as a sculptor, opening his Lafayette studio in 1981, before making the creative shift to painting, which then became his major focus.
Pavy's work is filled with vibrant colors, liberated musical rhythms, and abstract southern motifs that play on themes of mysticism, love, nature, humor and friendship. Underlying all of his work is a conscientious exploration of Louisiana culture - from the folk life of Acadiana to modern celebrations of joy to Cajun storytelling to a comprehensive examination of music, musicians and the musical traditions of Louisiana.
The Pavy retrospective will contain a variety of multi-media pieces, including paintings, prints, constructions and sculpture. "The retrospective, to me is a snapshot of pieces in time," says Pavy. "An evolution of my work and ideas, a history of my art that builds upon the past."
"Francis Pavy is one of the most significant and nationally known visual artists in our region, his work is deeply rooted in local culture which allows us to reflect in our sense of place in an often colorful and whimsical way," says Gerd Wuestemann, AcA Executive Director. "This show represents his first retrospective in his prolific body of work."
A lifelong resident of Louisiana, Francis X Pavy was born in Lafayette on March 2, 1954. As a child, he studied art under the direction of Elemore Morgan Jr. In college, Pavy studied music, ceramics, animation, painting, printmaking and sculpture, graduating in
1976 with a fine arts degree in sculpture. Pavy's work has been published in a variety national and international catalogs, books and magazines, and has been included in over 20 major exhibitions worldwide. In addition, his paintings are in permanent collections at the Morris Museum of Art, New Orleans Museum of Art, The Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the personal collections of Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Ron Howard, Lorne Michaels, Walker Percy, Chef John Besh, Roger Ogden and many others
The Francis Pavy retrospective, Currents and Flows - 35 Years of Art, will be featured at the Acadiana Center for the Arts in the main gallery, March 12 - May 7.
Acadiana Center for the Arts
101 W. Vermilion St.
Lafayette, LA 70501
P.O. Box 53762
Lafayette, LA 70505
(337) 233-7060
For additional information about the exhibit, visit www.acadianacenterforthearts.org or Francis Pavy's www.pavy.com.