August 20 – November 28, 2010, in the Townsend Wolfe and Jennette Edris Rockefeller Galleries.

Bigger, Better, More is the first major exhibition of ceramist Viola Frey’s works since her death in 2004. Frey is most renowned for her large- scale monumental figures. In this show, the large colossal ceramic sculptures greet viewers head on with arms outstretched or eyes looking directly at the visitor. Frey recounted her own life, as well as late-twentieth century culture, through her art. She is a forerunner in self-revelation by creating sculptures and vignettes based on her own personal relationships, recollections and the people she knew. Frey often created bricolages, which are collage-like clay assemblages. In these sculptures, inspiration came from objects found or purchased at flea markets that were seen as junk to others, but had meaning to her. Nonetheless, she is best known for her brilliantly colored, literally larger-than-life ceramic figures, ranging up to 12 feet tall, that she created later in her career.

Frey’s paintings, plates and drawings are also on view in the exhibition. Frey’s work is influenced by her family, especially her grandmothers and mother, artists Mark Rothko, Henri Matisse and Andy Warhol.

The exhibition is co-organized by the Gardiner Museum, Toronto and the Racine Art Museum, Wisconsin. Exhibition sponsors are JPMS Cox, PLLC and MetropolitanNational Bank.

Two lectures will be held in conjunction with the exhibition. Emphatically Present: Viola Frey and Her Art, a talk by freelance curator Patterson Sims, will take place Thursday, August 19, 2010. Sims co-authored the Frey exhibition catalogue. The lecture begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Lecture hall and is free to the public.

Ceramicist Lee Love will present the lecture Found in Translation: The Development of a Japanese Legacy in America on Thursday, September 16, 2010, about a recent Arts Center acquisition by Shigemasa Higashida.  A reception will precede the lecture at 6 p.m. The lecture begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Lecture Hall. The cost is $5 and reservations are required.

Bigger, Better, More is a ticketed exhibition. Prices are as follows: Adult $7; Senior $5; Youth $4. Special rates are available for groups of 10 or more. AAC members see the exhibition for free. For more information or to make reservations for the lectures, call 501-372-4000 or visitwww.arkarts.com.

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