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Frances X and Cathy Buffy joined Discover Lafayette to talk about Pavy Art + Design, their contemporary line of Acadian-inspired textiles drawn from the famous artwork of Francis X.
While Pavy Art + Design primarily focuses on business-to-business sales, individuals can also purchase directly. “Our goal is to get into showrooms to trade across the country” so everyone can get a sense of what makes Acadiana, Kathy says.
The work was conceived in 2019; The Paves have always talked about extracting elements from Francis’ paintings and making textiles. The process of turning art into textile design is a work that has allowed the couple to honor their mutual heritage in southern Louisiana, which they both cherish. Francis spoke about the prevalence of native grasses such as Tunica, Cane, Marsh, and Briar and how their patterns embody a story about southern Louisiana.
Francis has been creating art for forty years in his studio in downtown Lafayette. He was originally inspired as a child by a Saturday morning group show called “Painting with John Gnage,” and his parents signed him up with his sister Camille to attend art classes with Ellemore Morgan who was teaching at the time in Gerrard Park. Francis Kids that he chased after his parents for a drawing set and he still has a piece of it.
He also learned photography when he was still young when his father documented their lives through his photographs. Francis had a darkroom in the attic and learned film development. He still “takes pictures in his head” when he is drawing inspiration.
Francis is a world-renowned painter and mixed media artist known for his live-action works that capture the folklore of southern Louisiana. Both Francis and Cathy emphasized the importance of their formative years, as they were raised in music-playing families and loved to dance to Cajun music. Discovering and reinventing Cajun culture is a new experience for every generation according to Francis. “Little kids who play music interpret it in their own way, which is not unlike the ’80s when Beausoleil came out. I think our culture is being reinvented every many years. Even before us, it was Dewey Palfa and Erie Legon who changed the post-war Cajun culture and Newport Folk Festival. We have a culture A dynamic that is always changing.”
In 1990, Rolling Stone magazine dubbed Francis “Picasso Zedico.” His art collectors include the New Orleans Museum of Art, Morris Museum of Art, Ron Howard, Paul Simon, and Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia, among others. Currency featured on TomTom Club album cover for Talking Heads. SNL’s Lorne Michaels of Fame discovered Francis’ work while traveling to Louisiana several times and has the artist’s work front and center in his New York City office and home in Montauk on Long Island.
While Francis is an internationally known painter, Kathy brings years of experience in business; She has been a Brand Strategist for over 20 years as Agency Partner and Creative Director. Known in our community for her work in the industry, Kathy is also involved in the service work she does, including her work with the ABC Fund – a $10 million grant for Art + Culture, the Hilliard University Museum of Art Advisory Committee and the UL-Lafayette Advisory Committee for the Faculty of Arts.
For more information on Pavy Art + Design, please visit https://shop.pavy.com/. To view the Francis X Pavy fine, visit https://www.pavy.com/