Skip to main content

Viola Frey Art

American
She born in 1933, Viola Frey grew up on her family's vineyard in Lodi, California.[2] She received a BFA in 1956 from California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts), where she studied painting with Richard Diebenkorn and ceramics with Vernon "Corky" Coykendall and Charles Fiske.[3] Her fellow students included Robert Arneson, Manuel Neri and Nathan Oliveira.[4] After receiving her bachelor's degree, she attended graduate school at Tulane University and studied with Mark Rothko and George Rickey. She left Tulane in 1957 without receiving her master's degree[5] and moved to New York to work with ceramicist Katherine Choy at the Clay Art Center in Port Chester, New York.[6] The Clay Art Center was one of the earliest venues on the East Coast geared toward artists exploring ceramics as a fine art medium without the functional constraints of craft.[3] Career Frey returned to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1960 where she became an internationally respected artist and a leading figure in contemporary ceramics. She was well known for her monumental, brightly colored ceramic sculptures, which explored issues of gender, cultural iconography and art history. Along with Robert Arneson and Peter Voulkos, Frey reshaped and defined the use of ceramics as a fine art medium through her robust sculptures. "Frey was one of a number of California artists working in clay in the 1950s and 60s who turned away from that medium's conventions to produce works with robust sculptural qualities associated with Abstract Expressionist painting, Pop art and what would come to be known as California Funk."[7] "Viola has had a profound impact on the visual arts. She was able to take the culture surrounding her and reform those elements into a totally original form of sculpture that defined one of the great contributions to modern art," commented Michael S. Roth, former President of the California College of the Arts.[8]
to
2
2
1
1
1
1
Monumental Figural Family Group Sculpture by Viola Frey
Monumental Figural Family Group Sculpture by Viola Frey

Monumental Figural Family Group Sculpture by Viola Frey

By Viola Frey

Located in Dallas, TX

Multidisciplinary Californian artist Viola Frey (1933-2004) excelled as a painter, a potter, a sculptor and an educator. As a ceramicist she was a pioneer in the California Funk Move...

Category

1990s Viola Frey Art

Materials

Ceramic

Yellow Still Life by Viola Frey (NP#5016)

Yellow Still Life by Viola Frey (NP#5016)

By Viola Frey

Located in Morton Grove, IL

VIOLA FREY (1933-2004) Rare Yellow Still Life 1966 oil on canvas, signed 'V. Frey' lower right 34 x 44in (86.3 x 111.8cm) Provenance- The Nevica Project, Ch...

Category

1960s Contemporary Viola Frey Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Related Items
Hibiscus Pink Pocket Painting 229, original painting
Hibiscus Pink Pocket Painting 229, original painting

Hibiscus Pink Pocket Painting 229, original painting

By Dani Humberstone

Located in Deddington, GB

Pocket Pink Hibiscus 229 (canvas size 5x5cm) is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings, with...

Category

2010s Contemporary Viola Frey Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Fresh Flowers - contemporary, floral still life, acrylic and oil on canvas
Fresh Flowers - contemporary, floral still life, acrylic and oil on canvas

Fresh Flowers - contemporary, floral still life, acrylic and oil on canvas

By Pat Service

Located in Bloomfield, ON

A pretty, mixed floral bouquet fills the canvas with joyful colour in this still-life painting by Pat Service. The Canadian artist explored the traditional art form in the 1990’s but...

Category

1990s Contemporary Viola Frey Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Lovely Group of Porcelain Kaiser/Rosenthal-Germany Björn Wiinblad, Manfred Frey
Lovely Group of Porcelain Kaiser/Rosenthal-Germany Björn Wiinblad, Manfred Frey

Lovely Group of Porcelain Kaiser/Rosenthal-Germany Björn Wiinblad, Manfred Frey

By Bjorn Wiinblad

Located in Round Rock, TX

A lovely grouping of porcelain bisque vases for Kaiser Germany and Rosenthal “Studio Line” c.1970s. The decorative forms looked so good as a whole, we decided to offer them together....

Category

1970s German Mid-Century Modern Vintage Viola Frey Art

Materials

Porcelain

To Love And Be Loved - Still Life Floral Artwork Original Oil Painting
To Love And Be Loved - Still Life Floral Artwork Original Oil Painting

To Love And Be Loved - Still Life Floral Artwork Original Oil Painting

By Katharina Husslein

Located in Los Angeles, CA

With a contemporary perspective on landscape painting and inspired by paintings created by old masters, German artist Katharina Husslein paints in a representational manner to captur...

Category

2010s Contemporary Viola Frey Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Polar Bear Family Sculpture
Polar Bear Family Sculpture

Polar Bear Family Sculpture

$1,309Sale Price / item|20% Off

H 9.85 in W 15.36 in D 7.49 in

Polar Bear Family Sculpture

Located in Paris, FR

Sculpture Polar Bear Family with all structure in porcelain in blue matte and shiny gold finish.

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Viola Frey Art

Materials

Porcelain

Hibiscus Yellow Pocket Painting 233, original painting
Hibiscus Yellow Pocket Painting 233, original painting

Hibiscus Yellow Pocket Painting 233, original painting

By Dani Humberstone

Located in Deddington, GB

Pocket Yellow Hibiscus 233 (canvas size 5x5cm) is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings, wi...

Category

2010s Contemporary Viola Frey Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Summer Flowers - contemporary, floral still life, acrylic and oil on canvas
Summer Flowers - contemporary, floral still life, acrylic and oil on canvas

Summer Flowers - contemporary, floral still life, acrylic and oil on canvas

By Pat Service

Located in Bloomfield, ON

The simple beauty of a summer bouquet is celebrated in this lovely floral portrait by Pat Service. The Canadian artist chose to experiment with the classic still-life genre in her ow...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Viola Frey Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Monumental Patinated Fiberglass Figure Sculpture Style of Alberto Giacometti
Monumental Patinated Fiberglass Figure Sculpture Style of Alberto Giacometti

Monumental Patinated Fiberglass Figure Sculpture Style of Alberto Giacometti

By Alberto and Diego Giacometti

Located in Long Island City, NY

Monumental Patinated Fiberglass Figure in the Style of Alberto Giacometti A monumental fiberglass sculpture with a bronze tone patinated finish, executed in the style of Alberto Gia...

Category

Late 20th Century Unknown Brutalist Viola Frey Art

Materials

Fiberglass

Egg Fried on Toast Pocket Painting 208, original painting, still life
Egg Fried on Toast Pocket Painting 208, original painting, still life

Egg Fried on Toast Pocket Painting 208, original painting, still life

By Dani Humberstone

Located in Deddington, GB

Pocket Fried Egg on Toast 208 (canvas size 5x5cm) is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings,...

Category

2010s Contemporary Viola Frey Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Monumental Italian Glazed Terracotta Zebra Figure
Monumental Italian Glazed Terracotta Zebra Figure

Monumental Italian Glazed Terracotta Zebra Figure

$2,650

H 12.5 in W 27 in D 11.75 in

Monumental Italian Glazed Terracotta Zebra Figure

Located in Houston, TX

Monumental Italian glazed Terracotta zebra figure. Stunning extra large vintage Hollywood Regency well detailed Italian glazed terracotta black and w...

Category

1960s Italian Hollywood Regency Vintage Viola Frey Art

Materials

Terracotta

Parian Ware Figure Group
Parian Ware Figure Group

Parian Ware Figure Group

$873Sale Price|34% Off

H 12.5 in W 13 in D 6.5 in

Parian Ware Figure Group

Located in Cheshire, GB

Parian group of a hunting scene depicting a man kneeling on a fallen tree with his dogs looking at a burrow. Dimensions Height 12.5 Inches Width 13 Inches Depth 6.5 Inches

Category

Early 20th Century British Viola Frey Art

Materials

Porcelain

Antique Berlin KPM Porcelain Figural Group Sculpture
Antique Berlin KPM Porcelain Figural Group Sculpture

Antique Berlin KPM Porcelain Figural Group Sculpture

$932Sale Price|20% Off

H 10 in W 5 in D 5 in

Antique Berlin KPM Porcelain Figural Group Sculpture

By KPM Porcelain

Located in LOS ANGELES, CA

Antique Berlin KPM Porcelain Figural Group Sculpture

Category

19th Century German Classical Roman Antique Viola Frey Art

Materials

Porcelain

Previously Available Items
Viola Frey Floral Still Life Painting
Viola Frey Floral Still Life Painting

Viola Frey Floral Still Life Painting

By Viola Frey

Located in San Rafael, CA

Viola Frey (American, 1933-2004) Untitled (Floral Still Life) Acrylic on canvas Signed lower right Sight: 28 1/8in H x 46in L, Framed: 31 3/8in H x 49 1/2in Viola Frey's works are i...

Category

Late 20th Century Contemporary Viola Frey Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Untitles Still Life by Viola Frey (NP#5015)

Untitles Still Life by Viola Frey (NP#5015)

By Viola Frey

Located in Morton Grove, IL

VIOLA FREY (1933-2004) Very RarecUntitled (Floral Still Life) 1966 oil on canvas, signed 'Frey' lower right This work is registered with the Artists' Legacy...

Category

1960s Contemporary Viola Frey Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

'Contest, ' by Viola Frey, Drypoint Etching
'Contest, ' by Viola Frey, Drypoint Etching

'Contest, ' by Viola Frey, Drypoint Etching

By Viola Frey

Located in Oklahoma City, OK

This framed and matted 15.5" x 19.06" work by artist Viola Frey depicts a nude figure study of six figures. The etching in a palette of black and white showcas...

Category

Late 20th Century American Modern Viola Frey Art

Materials

Etching, Drypoint

Viola Frey Ceramic Charger, 2000
Viola Frey Ceramic Charger, 2000

Viola Frey Ceramic Charger, 2000

By Viola Frey

Located in Palm Springs, CA

A magnificent charger by the noted California artist Viola Frey. This large piece is monogrammed and dated 2000. It along with the "self Portrait" charger were ...

Category

Early 2000s American Viola Frey Art

Materials

Pottery

1994 Viola Frey "Self Portrait" Pottery Charger
1994 Viola Frey "Self Portrait" Pottery Charger

1994 Viola Frey "Self Portrait" Pottery Charger

By Viola Frey

Located in Palm Springs, CA

We were fortunate to find this Viola Frey Pottery charger out of a local estate. It bears a gallery label and was purchased along with a later charger tha...

Category

1990s American Viola Frey Art

Materials

Terracotta

Pedestal Dish by John Gill (INV# NP3150)
Pedestal Dish by John Gill (INV# NP3150)

Pedestal Dish by John Gill (INV# NP3150)

By Viola Frey

Located in Morton Grove, IL

Viola Frey Hand Sculpture stoneware 12 x 9 x 6" 1983 Viola Frey (1933 - 2004) was born in 1933 in Lodi, California, and died in Oakland, California, in 2004. In 1965 Frey began teac...

Category

1980s Contemporary Viola Frey Art

Materials

Stoneware

"Figure Study H", 1996, Figurative Expression, Ceramic Sculpture
"Figure Study H", 1996, Figurative Expression, Ceramic Sculpture

"Figure Study H", 1996, Figurative Expression, Ceramic Sculpture

By Viola Frey

Located in Detroit, MI

"Figure Study H" is exemplary of Viola Frey's colorful, larger-than-life ceramic sculptures. These brash and richly colored figures depict a woman sitting and a man moving away. Frey’s sculptures typically represent men in suits and ties, and women old-fashioned brightly colored dresses. She also depicted women holding a globe, thus empowering them. The men with confused faces are sometimes standing or falling. Viola Frey was born in Lodi, California in 1933. She was an American artist working in sculpture, painting and drawing, and professor emerita at California College of the Arts. She received a BFA in 1956 from California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts), where she studied painting with Richard Diebenkorn and ceramics with Vernon "Corky" Coykendall and Charles Fiske. Her fellow students included Robert Arneson, Manuel Neri and Nathan Oliveira. After receiving her bachelor's degree, she attended graduate school at Tulane University and studied with Mark Rothko and George Rickey. She left Tulane in 1957 without receiving her master's degree and moved to New York to work with ceramicist Katherine Choy at the Clay Art Center in Port Chester, New York. Frey returned to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1960. Along with Robert Arneson and Peter Voulkos, Frey reshaped and defined the use of ceramics as a fine art medium through her robust sculptures. Frey was one of a number of California artists working in clay in the 1950s and 60s who turned away from that medium's conventions to produce works with robust sculptural qualities associated with Abstract Expressionist painting, Pop art and what would come to be known as California Funk. In the 1970s, after moving to a larger studio in Oakland, Frey started creating her signature larger-than-life ceramic figures. Standing up to twelve feet high and constructed of separate pieces, the massive men appear in generic suits and ties, while the large female figures are often depicted in heavily patterned, 1950s-style dresses. In 1979, Viola was included in "A Century of Ceramics in the United States 1878-1978", which Garth Clark co-organized with Margie Hughto...

Category

1990s Viola Frey Art

Materials

Ceramic

Viola Frey Large Ceramic/Pottery Wall Charger/ Plate, Signed, Dated 1989
Viola Frey Large Ceramic/Pottery Wall Charger/ Plate, Signed, Dated 1989

Viola Frey Large Ceramic/Pottery Wall Charger/ Plate, Signed, Dated 1989

By Viola Frey

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Amazing ceramic charger/plate by the well-known artist Viola Frey 1933-2004. This piece is signed and dated 1989, as shown in pictures.

Category

1980s American Post-Modern Vintage Viola Frey Art

Materials

Ceramic, Pottery

Bluebird Lady
Bluebird Lady

Viola FreyBluebird Lady, 1982-1983

Sold

H 97 in W 23 in D 18 in

Bluebird Lady

By Viola Frey

Located in Morton Grove, IL

Provenance- Originally purchased thru the Greenberg Gallery in St. Louis. Sissy Thomas of Okun/Thomas Gallery contacted Dorothy Weiss Gallery (who represented Viola at the time) an...

Category

Viola Frey Art

Viola Frey art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Viola Frey art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Viola Frey in ceramic, clay, glaze and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1980s and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Viola Frey art, so small editions measuring 20 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Frank Gallo, Jean Richardson, and Bill Reid.

Artists Similar to Viola Frey