As LACMA prepares for the exhibition Magdalena Suarez Frimkess: The Finest Disregard, we wanted to give audiences a window into the L.A.-based and Venezuelan-born artist’s studio and philosophy. Director Mary Wigmore’s short film Magdalena, now on our YouTube channel, is a documentary portrait of Suarez Frimkess exploring her personal history, creative process, and daily life in the Venice, California, studio where she creates her celebrated hand-painted ceramic sculptures and vessels, which are imbued with reflections on her life and pop culture. We spoke to Wigmore about the origins of the film and what makes Suarez Frimkess such an inspiration.
How did Magdalena evolve as a film? What was your connection to the subject?
My mother took me to Magdalena’s studio in Venice, California, when I was a child. I have never forgotten walking through her studio and seeing the endless collection of her hand-painted ceramic bowls, pots, tiles, and sculptures covered with text and images of animals, cartoon characters, and her family and friends. I was especially taken with her cow-shaped creamer! I am grateful to Magdalena for inviting us and to my mother for introducing me to Magdalena back then—a strong, dedicated artist with a singular vision.
Many years later, I was thrilled to see the work of Magdalena and Michael [Frimkess’ husband] in the Made in L.A. show at the Hammer Museum. I went to visit Magdalena and Michael in their studio again and began shooting a short documentary portrait about their important collaboration. Ultimately, I felt such a strong connection to Magdalena that this film centers on her. It has been an honor to spend time with Magdalena and to document her process, learn more about her story and her artistic evolution and to witness her complete devotion to her art.
On a personal note, making this film has also been a profound way to reconnect with my mother, no longer on this earth, who admired Magdalena and her work so much.
Magdalena is an intimate portrait of an artist whose work has long been admired and collected by other artists. In fact, many of the loans in our show are from artists. What do you think makes her such an inspiration for them?
Magdalena’s unique sensibility is a great inspiration. Her ability to take everything from her life—her interests, her family, her history, her curiosity about the world around her—and put it into her work makes everything she creates so original. There’s a directness and immediacy to her work—it reflects the stories of her life. And she has a great sense of humor!
Magdalena’s unending creative energy and her quiet erudition as an artist through painting every day for so many years is inspiring, as is her ability to transform clay into one-of-a-kind objects. Her dedication to her practice and her perseverance is a great reminder to keep going and to keep creating, no matter what.