Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, born 1929 in Venezuela
Michael Frimkess, 1937 - 2025, born in Los Angeles
Magdalena Suarez Frimkess and Michael Frimkess were a husband-and-wife artistic duo whose collaborative ceramics blended classical pottery with playful, contemporary imagery. Working primarily from their Venice, California studio, Michael created exquisitely wheel-thrown vessels inspired by Greek, Chinese, and Indigenous ceramic traditions, while Magdalena painted and glazed them with cartoon characters, folk motifs, political satire, and autobiographical scenes. The pair met in 1963 at the Clay Art Center in New York after Magdalena moved from Venezuela and Chile to continue her art studies. Their collaboration deepened after Michael was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1971, leading to a creative partnership in which his refined forms became canvases for Magdalena’s vivid and unconventional imagery. Together, they challenged distinctions between “high art” and popular culture, combining technical mastery with humor, humanity, and social commentary.
Although they worked for decades outside the mainstream art world, their ceramics later gained major recognition through exhibitions at institutions including the Hammer Museum and Los Angeles County Museum of Art. They are actively collected by celebrities, museums and private collectors intrigued by the playfulness of the subject matter and how Michael and Magdalena are simply unbound by convention.
Their collaborative works are now celebrated as important contributions to contemporary American ceramics and the California Clay Movement.
Michael (1937 – 2025) was a musician in his early years and turned to ceramics after a vision during a peyote trip. In 1956, he started to study under the great Peter Voulkos (1924 - 2002) at the Otis College of Art and Design (California), working alongside students such as Ken Price, John Mason, and Billy Al Bengston.
Magdalena was born in 1929 in Caracas, Venezuela. She was sent to a Catholic orphanage around the age of seven or nine after her mother died from tuberculosis and her father could no longer financially support the family. She moved to Chile at age 18 and was described in Art in America as "the most daring sculptor working in Chile" in 1962. The orphanage experience deeply influenced her worldview and artistic voice. Despite hardship, she developed a sharp sense of humor, resilience, and imagination that later became central to her ceramics and drawings.
April 11- May 22, 2026- Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, a presentation of ceramic sculptures and works on paper, organized by Shio Kusaka. David Zwirner Gallery, Los Angeles
May 6, 2026 – July 18, 2026 Magdalena Suarez Frimkess: Ninety-Six And Pissed, The Marciano Art Foundation, Los Angeles
April, 2026 - September 2026 Magdalena Suarez Frimkess: Kaws Art & Comix, Albertina Modern, Vienna
August 18, 2024 – January 5, 2025- Magdalena Suarez Frimkess: The Finest Disregard at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
We are currently buying Frimkess pottery for future exhibitions. Please let us know if you are interested in selling.
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Magdalena Suarez Frimkess and Michael Frimkess
stoneware and glaze
4.5 × 6.5 × 6.5”
date unknown
signed