Viola Frey: Plates 1968-1994 | 1994

Essay by Donald Kuspit
Nancy Hoffman Gallery, New York, NY

“Viola Frey’s ceramic art, especially her famous monumental figures, has a certain relationship with funk art. This is perhaps less evident in her plate art, but still noticeable. At the same time, it shows more respect for its medium – for the plate’s tondo shape – than one might expect from an artist with funk affiliations…Perhaps this is because the plate is an inherently more intimate mode than the freestanding figure, not only because the plate is smaller and does not project into space but because it is self-contained. Paradoxically, I think its intimacy has led Frey to offer a more comprehensive, imaginative vision of the lifeworld – a microcosmic statement of her Weitanschauung – than her extroverted figures do, whatever narratives they are implicitly part of.” – Donald Kuspit

This catalogue accompanied a traveling exhibition of Viola Frey’s tondo sculptures, referred to as plates. Artworks explored range from 1968 to 1994 and was organized by Nancy Hoffman Gallery in 1994. 

Soft cover
11 x 11 inches
40 pages, 68 color plates

$15