The East End art community turned out in force at Ashawagh Hall in Springs on Jan. 5 for the opening of "Paul Pavia: A Commemorative Exhibition of Sculptures and Paintings."
Organized by Coco Myers of Folioeast to celebrate the Springs artist, who died in July at the age of 52, the four-day show also had works by some of his friends, including James DeMartis, Elaine Grove, Dennis Lawrence, Dennis Leri, Tim Tibus, and Aurelio Torres, as well his mother, the painter Natalie Edgar, and Charles Waller, who died in 2021.
Ms. Myers spoke of the elegance of Pavia's sculptures, "even when they are off kilter -- literally leaning or tipping. I don't know how he achieved such breadth in a body of work, but he did. And while there is a Pavia signature look, he managed to create seemingly endless originals."
The exhibition included recent paintings as well as an abundance of sculpture. In addition to the exhibiting artists, others who checked out the show included Nick Tarr, Mark Webber, Linda K. Alpern, John Haubrich, David Slater, Hiroyuki Hamada, Roisin Bateman, Rosario Varela, Amy Wickersham, Blair Seagram, Denise Gale, Jaime Lopez, and Barbara Thomas. Among the curators were Jess Frost, Pamela Willoughby, and Esperanza Leon.
Ms. Grove knew Pavia through being in local group shows and seeing him in the neighborhood. "I always admired his work," she said. "He seemed really so kind, and he didn't do it for any vainglorious reason. He just sort of had to do it." She mentioned that he used to hang out in Maidstone Park with Mr. Tibus, who worked for her late husband, Dan Christensen, "drinking, telling jokes, and I would see him there when I'd go walk my dog."
Mr. Leri said he met Pavia through other sculptors, like Mr. DeMartis. "I knew Paul for 25 years. He was always exceptional because he was always Paul. Some artists go here, go there, but not him. He was always himself, and he believed what I believe in -- reduction, less is more. I love his stuff, the texture, the color."
The first time Mr. Tibus met Pavia was at Wolfie's Tavern in Springs, when he was working for Christensen. "Don't remember who introduced us, but we got into a heavy conversation about art. He being a sculptor and I a painter, we carried on and on. There might have been some friction, because we were told to simmer down! We got to know each other and often used to exhibit together."
Mr. DeMartis, who, like Mr. Leri, works in metal, called Pavia "an artist's artist. Those of us lucky enough to call him a friend knew him as the real deal. His poetry in metal evoked universal feelings of fragility, pain, loss, conflict, delicacy, and beauty. Paul worked as he lived -- with passion, sensitivity, and truth."
"One of my all-time favorite people," said Mr. Lawrence. "To me, he held a special place in our Springs community as an artist and a friend. He is very much missed, but his work remains, an important legacy."
"Paul's work never failed to impress me," said Mr. Torres, who exhibited a stunning portrait of Pavia. "His sculpture exuded a sense of delicate, almost precarious balance and splendid proportions. We both came from artist families. Our fathers were artists who died when we were children, and art was the family business for us both."
Ms. Edgar, who was unable to attend the opening, told The Star during a conversation after Pavia's death that "he had a clear aesthetic vision. Whenever he did anything, from the earliest drawings to the sculpture to his paintings, they are extremely clear, right from the concept to the page . . . He was very much imbued with that idea of having something authentic of himself in his work."
