Folk-life, folklore common themes in art of Francis X. Pavy
Last Modified: Wednesday, September 05, 2012 7:48 PM
By Cliff Seiber / American Press
An exhibit of the art of Louisiana-born artist Francis X. Pavy, who has studied art since childhood, will be on display at the 1911 Historic City Hall Arts and Cultural Center from Friday to Nov. 10.
Pavy will attend the opening reception, to be held 5:30-8 p.m. Friday. The reception is open to the public at no charge.
“The exhibit will include a lot of work I haven’t shown before,” Pavy, who has not shown his work in Lake Charles before, said in a telephone interview with the American Press.
It is a retrospective of his work from 1992 to the present.
Some of it was done between exhibits and did not fit in with subsequent show themes.
“I tried to select things I really like,” he said.
“The works will include paintings, print paintings and some constructions,” he said.
His more recent works have a lot of density of image and color, he said. They appear to be layers of colors with layers of lines, forms and drawn images.
His work is found in such collections as those of Paul Simon, Lorne Michaels, Ron Howard, Jimmy Buffet, Zachary Richard and Bob Dylan. He is represented by galleries in New Orleans, San Antonio, Texas, and Atlanta. His studio is in Lafayette.
Pavy, a lifelong resident of Louisiana, is also a musician, playing guitar and singing in the band Stranger Than Friction in Lafayette.
His music is more a hobby than profession, “not to make a living,” he said. The band plays a variety of styles, mostly R&B. Since all the musicians sing, the band is on the “folksy,” acoustical side. He has composed some songs.
While there may be no direct correlation between his music and his visual art, he relates his paintings to storytelling.
“My work stems from the Southern storytelling tradition. Common subjects for me are the folk-life and folklore of the local people juxtaposed against the fabric of everyday American life. I am particularly interested in music, musicians and the musical traditions of Louisiana,” he said.
If you go
• Retrospective exhibit of the art of Francis X. Pavy of Lafayette is Sept. 7-Nov. 10 at 1911 Historic City Hall Arts and Cultural
Center, 1001 Ryan St.
• Gallery Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.
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