Viola Frey
The Pit Palm Springs
Viola Frey
Curated by Tony Marsh in conjunction with the Artists’ Legacy Foundation
December 2, 2023 - January 20, 2024
The Pit Palm Springs
The Pit Palm Springs is honored to present an exhibition of works by legendary California artist Viola Frey curated by renowned ceramicist and founding director of the Center for Contemporary Ceramics at Cal State Long Beach Tony Marsh in conjunction with the Artists’ Legacy Foundation. The exhibition will be on view from December 2, 2023 - January 20, 2024 at The Pit Palm Springs. There will be a closing reception on January 20, 2024 from 3-5pm.
A prolific creator and interdisciplinary artist, Viola Frey produced thousands of artworks during her lifetime. Most well known for her larger-than-life ceramic figures, Frey also worked in clay on a smaller scale, in addition to drawings, paintings and uniquely painted bronze sculptures. The Artists’ Legacy Foundation notes “Over the course of her five-decade career, Viola Frey (1933–2004) produced an impressive body of artwork, involving painting, drawing, bronze and glass – but she is perhaps best known for her ceramic sculpture. Frey was obsessively devoted to her practice and produced thousands of artworks during her lifetime. Viola Frey shifted between two-dimensional and three-dimensional artworks with ease, and she often explored myriad themes simultaneously, all of which built her visual language. Her iconography included suited men, hands, and cast figurines, among many others. Plates served as a canvas, upon which she built three-dimensional sculptures, and bricolage sculptures were assembled with molded objects from her figurine collection or commercial molds. Throughout her work, she used light, color, and scale to evoke emotion.”
For the exhibition at The Pit, Marsh has selected works that demonstrate Frey's interdisciplinary approach to subject matter and material - paintings on canvas and paper, ceramics, and bronzes - created over decades fringe 1975 to 2002.
Alongside the exhibition, The Pit and The Palm Springs Museum of Art are pleased to host a conversation with Artists’ Legacy Foundation Director of Collections and Archives Cynthia de Bos at The Palm Springs Museum of Art on January 20, 2024. The talk will discuss Frey’s biography, oeuvre, and the vast influence Frey’s work has had on the ceramic community in California.
For further information, please contact the gallery at info@the-pit.la.
Viola Frey, Studio View: Falling Men, 1983, Oil on canvas, 55 x 105 in.
Viola Frey, Untitled (Bricolage with Hand, Cat and other Small Figurines), 1995 Ceramic and glaze, 15½ x 10 x 7¾ in.
Viola Frey, Untitled (Skull with Hat on Hand), 1985, Bronze and gold leaf, 10½ x 9½ x 11 in.
Viola Frey, Untitled (G) White Hand Cup, 1995, Ceramic and glaze, 11 x 7¾ x 7½ in.
Viola Frey, Untitled (White Desert Glove with Swirl), 1975-1980, Ceramic and glaze, 10½ x 8½ x 6 in.
Viola Frey, Untitled (Orange Monkey Riding Horse), 2002, Ceramic and glaze, 26 x 26 x 6 in.
Viola Frey, Untitled (Red Gloves), 1984-1986, Acrylic on paper, 26 x 20 in.
Viola Frey, See No Evil, Desert Toys Series, 1976, Ceramic and glazes, 23½ x 13½ x 10 in.
Viola Frey, Untitled (Cup Bricolage with Orange Monkey, Bird and Hand), 1995, Ceramic and glaze, 14 x 9 x 11¼ in.
Viola Frey, Untitled (Man Standing on Glove), 1985, Bronze and unique enamel paint, 28½ x 13½ x 13½ in.
Viola Frey, Untitled (Two Gloves), 1987-1989, Ceramic and glaze, 9½ x 13 x 17 in.
Viola Frey, Untitled (Hands Holding Column with Buddha on Top), 1988, Ceramic and glaze, 25½ x 25½ x 7½ in.
Viola Frey, Crocker Series II (Blue Profile, Hand with Brush), 1979, Ceramic and glazes, 20 x 20 x 2½ in.
Viola Frey, Untitled (Orange Glove and Base), 1987-1989, Ceramic and glaze, 35 x 41 x 41 in.