Slein Gallery Devotes Entire 4735 McPherson Footprint to Boccia Career Survey

Art collectors and local residents gain full access to the entire interior of Philip Slein Gallery at 4735 McPherson Avenue for the first time in over two decades. The gallery, which typically restricts solo exhibitions to its front room, has expanded to occupy all three spaces to host Edward E. Boccia: An American Modernist. The opening reception runs from 5 to 8 p.m. on October 23, with the exhibition scheduled to remain on view through December 19.

Boccia, a 1921 New Jersey native of Italian descent, spent six decades in St. Louis after arriving in 1951. He joined the faculty at Washington University, where he taught for more than 30 years before retiring as a professor emeritus in 1986. His earlier career included service in the World War II Ghost Army and academic stints at the Pratt Institute, Art Students League, and Columbia University. He also taught at the Columbus Art School in Ohio, where he introduced Bauhaus principles to his students.

The current display features more than 30 paintings that document his output from the 1950s until his death in 2012. The front room showcases his largest pieces, including the nine-panel autobiographical work Eugene's Journey and the 2004 triptych David's Death. A connecting hallway presents mythic ocean scenes, while the final room contains a salon wall that traces his stylistic evolution from early portraits to late-career works painted shortly before he died at age 91.

Rosa Berland, a New York-based curator and art historian, authored the accompanying monograph Edward E. Boccia: Painter of Nightmares and Dreams. Published by Hirmer during the show's run, the book represents the first major study of the artist and follows 14 years of research. It includes scholarly essays and fold-out plates designed to convey the scale of his multi-panel compositions.

Berland credits Morton D. May as Boccia's most important patron, noting that May's collection was partially gifted to the Saint Louis Art Museum. The curator describes Boccia as a polymath who studied philosophy, theology, and psychoanalysis while maintaining an experimental artistic style. She emphasizes that his work requires active engagement from the viewer, a stance she attributes to Boccia's own instruction to simply experience the art without over-analyzing its meaning.

Philip Slein, the gallery owner, stated that the scale of this exhibition is the largest the space has hosted since it opened 23 years ago. He noted that the only venue larger than his gallery would be a major institutional museum. The show remains open to the public through the end of the month, offering a comprehensive look at a career that produced thousands of works ranging from small seaside sketches to monumental symbolic pieces.