Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/357002
Shape Shifters A l b e r t a n d F r a n c e s Pa l e y 's E x p r e s s i ve A r t B Y R I C H A R D P I T N I C K I t's been said that in life, as in ar t, the beautiful moves in cur ves; and for Alber t and Frances Paley, the arc of their lives over the past 40 years has been graced by shared careers as working ar tists and an emotional bond marked by admiration and sup- por tive understanding of each other's creative vision. "When you are involved in the process of art…you are emotion- ally and intellectually vulnerable," affirms Albert, who with Frances divides time between their home and studio workspaces in Rochester, NY, and a home on Carmel Point. "We tr y to create an open environment and whatever inti- macy we share or differences in our perspectives, we tr y not to influence each other," he says. "We keep that distance and boundar y and sense of autonomy." "The working process is a delicate thing," agrees Frances, "and although we know each others' work and often do see things similarly, we tread lightly." As an acclaimed sculptor, metalsmith and designer, Albert Paley has cre- ated more than 90 commissioned art works in cities throughout the US that range from monumental free-standing metal sculptures to ornamen- tal gates, archways and temporary installation pieces. Last year, Paley exhibited 13 sculptures with a combined weight of 100 tons mounted for 3/4 of a mile along Park Avenue between 52nd and 67th Streets in Manhattan. Paley's 2006 "Animals Always," designed for the St. Louis Zoo and regarded by many as the culminat- ing expression of his artistry, is a steel archway of vegetation meas- uring 130 x 36 feet high populated by over 60 life-size, metallic wild animal species. Beyond his large-scale pieces, Paley is also admired for his singu- larly beautiful decorative objects that include tables, lamps, candle- holders, and fireplace accessories. Paley draws upon a rich legacy of ar t and design motifs in his work that often includes ele- ments of early 20th-Centur y modernist tendencies, along with aspects of Ar t Deco and Ar t Nouveau, surrealism and the Ar ts and Crafts movement. He blends these seemingly disparate elements into a beautifully real- ized, crystalline whole. Particularly in his large sculptures, he achieves a combustible dynamic, mixing organic and geometric shapes that are framed and accented by arcs, curvilinear forms and acute angles. "In my work, I am trying to deal with the seemingly contradictory rela- tionship between the two systems of human perception: the intellectu- al/rational and the intuitive/emotional," says the artist, who was honored earlier this summer with a 50-year career retrospective exhibition at the esteemed Corcoran Gallery in Washington, DC, that showcased the full range of his oeuvre, including early jewelry pieces to later drawings, maquettes and sculptures. Splitting their time between Carmel and New York, artists Frances and Albert Paley are celebrating 40 years together. 198 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R / F A L L 2 0 1 4