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Magdalena Suarez Frimkess / LACMA

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Picking up the two Frimkess pieces last weekend reminded me that I never did a post on  LACMA's exhibition on Magdalena. I saw it in September of 2024.  Magdalena Suarez Frimkess: The Finest Disregard was the first museum exhibition dedicated to Magdalena. Although she is mostly known for her ceramics, the Venezuelan-born, Los Angeles-based artist was trained in painting, printmaking, and sculpture in Venezuela, Chile, and New York. Spanning more than five decades, the exhibition features ceramics, paintings, and drawings, including works created with her husband, Michael Frimkess. Magdalena was born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1929. She was orphaned at seven years old when her mother passed from cancer. After being raised by nuns, she moved to Chile at 19. She moved to the US when she was 33 after she was offered a residency at the Clay Art Center in New York. That is where she met her future husband Michael. They moved to Los Angeles in 1964 and they opened there studio ...
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Weekend / Stuff

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Magdalena Suarez Frimkess Mickey and Minnie and a tile.   Table by Martin Perfit for Rene Brancusi Peter Shire, Don Shoemaker box and Earthgender
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Weekend / Stuff

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Eero Saarinen and Fabricius & Kastholm There was an estate sale at the Chapman house last week and I bought this piece. The first thing that came to mind is  Svetozar Radakovich.  According to Dave Hampton, Barbara Chapman took a class at Palomar College taught by  Svetozar Radakovich. This sculpture is most likely a product of that. 
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Weekend / Stuff

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I'm glad it's still exciting to find a nice old bubble lamp. French catch all, Edward Kienholz poster, Victor Bisharat, and Jens Quistgaard.    
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Howard Smith / Palm Springs Art Museum

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The Art and Design of Howard Smith at The Palm Springs Art Museum The exhibition was curated by Steven Wolf Howard Smith (1928-2021) was born on the East Coast of the United States, but is mostly known for his work in Finland. He worked in pretty much every medium in both fine art and design for production. He had over 40 solo exhibitions during his life, mostly in Finland.  This is his first retrospective in the United States.  My first exposure to him was from friend and legendary design dealer, Ken Erwin. Howard and Ken met in in the 1970s at a Art Deco shop on Melrose called Jazz. Ken said, at the time, it was rare to see another Black person in a design shop. They became instant and lifelong friends. After serving in the US Army, with time in Japan, Korea and West Germany, he moved to Philadelphia in 1958 to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The he moved to Helsinki in 1962 to participate in a United States government sponsored festival called Young Ame...
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