Untitled (Grandmother Series)

Sculpture

-

di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art

Viola Frey: Center Stage 2019

Viola Frey: Center Stage 2019

Name/Title

Untitled (Grandmother Series)

Entry/Object ID

676

Description

Grandmother stands in Sunday best print dress and flowered hat with high heeled shoes and arms outstretched in greeting

Artwork Details

Medium

ceramic and glazes

Category

Sculpture

Acquisition

Accession

AR676

Source or Donor

Braunstein/Quay Gallery

Acquisition Method

Purchase

Made/Created

Artist

Viola Frey

Date made

1978

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Object

Height

75 in

Width

27 in

Depth

28-1/2 in

Exhibitions

Exhibition

Viola Frey: Foundations

Notes

January 10 - April 5, 2026, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek

Exhibition

To the Max!

Notes

September 8, 2023 - August 24, 2024, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa

Exhibition

Viola Frey: Center Stage

Notes

February 23 - December 28, 2019, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa

Exhibition

Be Not Still: Living in Uncertain Times (Part 2)

Notes

June 23, 2018 - December 30, 2018, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa

Research Notes

Research Type

Curator

Date

2019

Notes

Untitled (Grandmother Series) depicts a stately older woman wearing a floral dress, a Sunday hat, and a mild grimace. The agrarian culture of Lodi, California, where Frey was raised, may have been male-dominated, but representations of powerful older women became a prevalent theme throughout much of her sculpture. The several influences for this work include Frey’s paternal grandmother, the willful leader of their family, as well as other resilient women who stewarded Lodi through World War II. The third notable reference is Mrs. Elsie Grosvenor, a writer, suffragette, world traveler, and wife of the editor of National Geographic (Grosvenor’s powerful image in the pages of the magazine made an impression on Frey as a child). These strong characterizations are in direct opposition to the frail, vulnerable depictions of older women we often encounter in the media and popular culture. By portraying such an unconventional and often overlooked subject, this work troubles the neglect and erasure experienced by older women as subjects in art and the media.