Viola Frey at the Oakland Museum

My husband has lots of stories about studying ceramics with the late Viola Frey (1933-2004) at California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts). A visit to the Oakland Museum always includes taking another look at Viola's sculptures.

She's most well known for her monumental, brightly colored ceramic sculptures that shaped and redefined ceramics from 'craft' to 'fine art.'

As a CCAC student herself in the 1950s, Viola studied painting with Richard Diebenkorn and attended classes with fellow students Robert Arneson, Manuel Neri and Nathan Oliveira. What an exciting time that must have been.