Viola Frey

The Pit is honored to present Viola Frey: Observed and Gathered, a landmark solo exhibition examining the profound and multifaceted artistic practice of Viola Frey (1933-2004). This exhibition, marks Frey’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles in over three decades. With works ranging from 1980 to 2004, the exhibition will feature a selection of her larger-than-life ceramic figures, densely rich paintings and drawings, alongside more intimate ceramic sculptures, plates, and works on paper. This will be the artist's second exhibition with the gallery, her first since the announcement of The Pit’s representation of her Foundation.

Viola Frey: Observed and Gathered underscores Frey's pivotal role in redefining the landscape of contemporary ceramics while also illuminating the foundational importance of painting and drawing in her artistic trajectory. Frey’s early training in painting at the California College of Arts and Crafts and later at Tulane University instilled in her a deep understanding of figuration, composition, and color - principles that she would later boldly translate into the medium of clay for its infinite possibilities. Her movement into ceramics was instrumental in pushing the medium beyond traditional craft boundaries and firmly into the realm of fine art sculpture.

Frey’s monumental ceramic figures, often exceeding human scale, are characterized by their expressive and gestural forms and vibrant and often unconventional glazes. These figures frequently explore themes of identity, power dynamics, societal expectations, and the complexities of the human condition. Alongside these monumental works, the exhibition includes smaller ceramic pieces from her bricolage series. Consisting of cast objects from her collection of tchotchkes and other curios, these works echo her formal concerns, tossed-away symbols of Western culture, and bold color choices. A poignant highlight of the exhibition is Frey’s, over six-feet tall, seated "Majestic Woman" sculpture, created in 2004, the year of her passing, serving as a powerful and resonant final statement.

Viola Frey fearlessly challenged conventional notions of ceramics, elevating its status through sheer scale, conceptual depth, and expressive force. Her unique style, influenced by her early engagement with the Bay Area’s own artistic movement and her fascination with vernacular culture and collected objects, set her apart as a singular and influential voice. Her techniques, including hand-building, layering, and innovative glazing methods, allowed her to create works of immense physical and emotional presence.

Viola Frey: Observed and Gathered also coincides with the release of the first comprehensive monograph dedicated to the artist’s work. Viola Frey: Artist’s Mind/Studio/World provides essential scholarly context with key texts written by Cynthia de Bos, Nancy Lim, Jenelle Porter, and Jodi Throckmorton.

Viola Frey (1933–2004) received her BFA and honorary doctorate from California College of the Arts and Crafts, where she taught for 30 years, and attended graduate school at Tulane University. She was awarded two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, the Award of Honor in Sculpture from the San Francisco Arts Commission, and many other grants and awards.

Her work is in numerous public and private collections, including the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, Paris, France; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC; The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX; and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA. In 2000, she co-founded Artists’ Legacy Foundation with Squeak Carnwath and Gary Knecht. Upon her death in 2004, she became the Foundation’s first Legacy Artist.