Boccia Retrospective Fills Gallery Space

More than 30 paintings from the late artist Edward E. Boccia occupy every room of Philip Slein Gallery in the Central West End. The exhibition, titled Edward E. Boccia: An American Modernist, opened with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. on October 23. It will run through December 19. The gallery, located at 4735 McPherson Avenue, has rarely devoted its full space to a single artist in its 23-year history. Usually, the venue uses only its front room for individual shows.

Gallery owner Philip Slein called the installation a very significant show. He stated that the only venue larger than this would be an institution. Slein noted that Boccia lived in St. Louis for six decades. The artist was born in New Jersey in 1921 to Italian parents. He served in the World War II Ghost Army before studying at the Pratt Institute and the Art Students League in New York. He earned degrees from Columbia University after returning from the war.

Boccia taught at the Columbus Art School in Ohio, where he introduced Bauhaus sensibilities to his students. He joined Washington University in St. Louis in 1951. He remained there for more than 30 years, retiring in 1986 as professor emeritus. Art historian Rosa Berland described his teaching style as rigorous but open to students finding their own kind of fire. Berland is based in New York and authored the exhibition's companion text.

The artist produced thousands of works during his career. His style blended classical traditions with experimental techniques. He continued working until his death in 2012 at age 91. Slein recalled that if Boccia was not sleeping or eating, he was drawing. The current exhibition features large-scale pieces in the front room. These include the nine-panel autobiographical polyptych Eugene's Journey and the 2004 triptych David's Death.

David's Death is one of several meditations on the death of Boccia's son. A hallway displays mythic scenes of ocean journeys. Figures in these works appear to emit their own inner light. The final room contains a salon wall that traces the artist's evolution. It moves from a 1950s portrait to a work painted in 2012, shortly before his death. Influences from Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, René Magritte, Renaissance masters, and Max Beckmann appear throughout the display.

Hirmer will publish a companion book during the exhibition's run. The volume is titled Edward E. Boccia: Painter of Nightmares and Dreams. Berland wrote the text after 14 years of research. It is the first major monograph on the artist. The book includes dozens of images, including fold-out plates that show the scale of his multi-panel works. It also contains scholarly essays and historical overviews.

Berland described Boccia as a polymath who studied philosophy, theology, psychoanalysis, and history. She said he did not want his work to be didactic. A pamphlet prepared for the show includes his instruction to viewers: Do not worry about what my art means. Just experience it. Berland credited Morton D. May, whose collection was partially gifted to the Saint Louis Art Museum, as Boccia's greatest patron. She characterized the artist as a kid from New York who found success in St. Louis.

Berland argued that such work demands engagement on several levels. She compared the experience to reading a poem or a philosophical text. She stated that people do not slow down anymore. The exhibition remains open to the public at the gallery on McPherson Avenue through December 19.