Search Collections
Lady in Blue and Yellow Dress
1983
Viola Frey
Born: Lodi, California 1933
Died: Oakland, California 2004
glazed earthenware
overall: approx. 107 x 28 x 33 in. (271.8 x 71.1 x 83.8 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of the James Renwick Alliance
1994.37.2A-G
Renwick Gallery
2nd Floor, Room 203
"I don't like things that are slick. I like things with a little bit of awkwardness." The artist, quoted in Viola Frey, exhibition catalogue, Fresno Art Museum, 1991
Viola Frey once said that she sculpted figures because in her hometown of Lodi, California, there was nothing else to portray but the women in printed dresses walking through town on Sundays. Lady in Blue and Yellow Dress also recalls the Asian and pre-Columbian sculptures that the artist admired (Viola Frey, exhibition catalogue, Fresno Art Museum, 1991). The figure makes a gesture with her hands that in Japanese and Chinese statuary symbolizes speaking or singing. After her first two attempts collapsed, Frey began creating her monumental works out of individual pieces of fired clay that, when fitted together, stabilized the sculptures so that they would not fail.
This object is currently on view at the Renwick Gallery.
For more information about this work visit the Luce Foundation Center.
Keywords
Figure female - full length
decorative arts - ceramic
Crafts - Clay
ceramic
metal
About Viola Frey
Born: Lodi, California 1933 Died: Oakland, California 2004
Social Media @ American Art