The Lona-Frey Collection at the Center City Gallery

Monday, August 27, 2012

The Lona-Frey Collection, representing 43 works by some of the most important American artists of the 20th century, will open to the public on Saturday, Aug. 4, at UNC Charlotte Center City.

During the next three years, UNC Charlotte Center City will display the collection with 27 pieces exhibited on the second and third floors of the building; the remainder of the collection will be located in elevator lobby areas on upper levels. Recorded tours will be available for smart phones, and guided tours will be available by appointment. For more information, contact Crista Cammaroto, director of galleries, at 704‑687‑0833.

The Lona-Frey Collection began with the creative sensibilities of Andrew Lona, an administrator for the Southwestern Bell Corporation (SBC) who was charged with creating a curatorial team to guide purchases for the corporation’s collection. Upon completion, the SBC collection included more than 1,000 works on paper, primarily prints and paintings from 20th-century American artists. Toward the end of this effort, Lona and his life partner Brently Frey began to amass a considerable personal collection that focused on American modern and contemporary art, too.

Lona had always hoped that his art collection would become an educational tool. After his death, Frey decided to house some of the collection at UNC Charlotte. The University initially had access to 32 pieces in 2007, when Frey provided the works for an eight-year loan. In the past year, he extended the loan to 25 years and added 11 pieces to the collection.

Consisting primarily of limited edition prints, sculpture and photographs from 1930 to 2000, the Lona-Frey Collection features works by prominent American artists, such as Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Sam Francis, Helen Frankenthaler, Julian Schnabel, Jim Dine, Robert Mapplethorpe, Sol LeWitt and Robert Motherwell.

Photo: Helen Frankenthaler's Bilbao