This Elderly Miscreant at 95 Years Old Continues to Cause Trouble for Mickey Mouse
Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, a rebellious clay artist, has been crafting her unique style for over half a century. Originating from Venezuela, this 95-year-old artist has adorned everyday items with humorous depictions of renowned characters like Mickey Mouse and Olive Oyl. In 2015, she showcased her artistic talent by creating a full tea set featuring the Looney Tunes' Tasmanian Devil.
The exhibit "Magdalena Suarez Frimkess: The Ultimate Disregard" marks her first significant solo show. Living near Venice Beach, Los Angeles, alongside her American potter husband, Michael Frimkess, Suarez Frimkess has profoundly influenced American iconography. Her work ranges from classic cartoon characters like Betty Boop and Bugs Bunny to contemporary figures such as Wonder Woman and Felix the Cat, as well as Chilean comic characters like Condorito.
Vases in her collection showcase famous personalities such as Miles Davis, Fidel Castro, and Martin Luther King, placing Suarez Frimkess in the creative sphere between Grayson Perry and Andy Warhol. Her work exhibits playful and nostalgic compositions at times, while other occasions reveal unsettling and slightly sinister connotations. Her distinct aesthetic — a blend of humor and seriousness — is accurately described by the artist herself as "funny yet serious."
Suarez Frimkess's biography hints at the complexity hidden behind her lighthearted pieces. She was born in 1929 in Maturin, Venezuela, into a low-income family. Following her mother's death from tuberculosis, she was sent to a Catholic orphanage. Recognizing her innate talent for drawing, the nuns provided her with the necessary education in arts.
Later, she earned her reputation as a prominent student at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas de Caracas, under influential artists like Rafael Ramon González. After moving to Santiago, Chile, with her married lover, Suarez Frimkess raised their children and built a career in art education.
Around the age of 30, she began experimenting with sculptures filled with plaster within pantyhose, leading to controversy and censure from the Catholic faculty. In 1963, Suarez Frimkess met Michael Frimkess, an American potter, during a fellowship residency at Clay Art Center in Port Chester, New York. Their shared love for clay resulted in a union and subsequent creative collaboration.
Her cartoon pieces emerged in the late 1970s, showcasing her ability to bring humor to commonplace objects. "I don't have an agenda; I just take things day by day," she explains, comparing her artistic process to eating.
Suarez Frimkess is known for her dismissal of artistic norms and conventions, rejecting the wheel and displaying little interest in glazes. Her work has a home-made, unfinished quality. The tea set featuring the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes is one of many irreverent creations that rose to prominence in the exhibit.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) pays tribute to Suarez Frimkess with this retrospective, showcasing works with toucans, frogs, cockroaches, and other delightful visual puns. Autobiographical elements of her childhood, as well as satirical commentary on societal expectations, are interwoven throughout the exhibition.
Frimkess's collaboration with her husband, Michael, combines his improved classical pottery style with her playful decorative flair. This combination of opposite styles showcases the partnership's impact on contemporary art, while paying tribute to their 50-year marriage and the merging of her two national identities – an old, traditional one from Venezuela, and a modern, dynamic one from Southern California.
In her own words, Suarez Frimkess sees her studio as a sanctuary "where I can misbehave." This disregard for conformity, humor, and distinct voice paved the way for her extraordinary career, making her an unparalleled artist in her field. "Magdalena Suarez Frimkess: The Finest Disregard" is on display at LACMA until January 2025.
Magdalena Suarez Frimkess's unique style, characterized by humor and seriousness, has been greatly influenced by various art forms. Her work, which includes humorous depictions of renowned characters, showcases her talents in blending different styles from the 'arts' world.
The exhibition at LACMA highlights Magdalena's distinct aesthetic, displaying her innovative clay pieces that challenge traditional 'style' norms in the arts, such as the Tasmanian Devil tea set.
