In 1936, the year Magdalena Suárez turned seven, her mother died from tuberculosis. Unable to provide financial stability, Magdalena’s father placed her in an orphanage in the depths of Caracas, Venezuela. Life was tough, but Suárez was able to study at the School of the Plastic Arts, where she found solace in painting. At 18 she fell in love with a married man, had two children, and went to Catholic University in Santiago, Chile. She learned to sculpt and won a scholarship to the Clay Art Center in New York City. There she met her husband, Michael Frimkess. Suárez Frimkess sculpts cartoon characters, mugs, and vases with a Pop Art twist. Her Disney characters—Mickey Mouse and Popeye—are painted in a cacophony of color. Ten years ago, she held her first New York solo show. “Delightfully curious,” The New Yorker called her work, “nonchalantly constructed, beautifully glazed.” This exhibition at LACMA is Suárez Frimkess’s first museum exhibition. —Elena Clavarino