Don Fritz (b. 1950) is a painter, ceramic sculptor and educator whose work explores the contradictions between idealized cultural fantasies and lived experience. Born in Tacoma, Washington, he earned a B.A. in 1975 and B.F.A. in 1976 from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and an M.F.A. in 1978 from the University of California, Davis. Working across ceramics, painting and drawing, Fritz combines imagery drawn from childhood toys, popular culture, advertising and mythology to examine ideas about innocence, gender, identity and power. A longtime art professor at Santa Clara University, he retired in 2023.