Frida Kahlo
La Columna Rota (The Broken Column)
1944, oil on canvas, Museo Dolores Olmedo, Mexico
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera – High Museum of Art Atlanta’s High Museum of Art is the sole U.S. venue for ‘Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics, and Painting,’ a major exhibition of work by Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera on view Feb. 14 through May 12, 2013.]]>
Source: High Museum of Art, Atlanta
The exhibition – which includes new museum acquisitions, custom-designed reading rooms, bilingual displays and several related special events – features some of the best examples of Kahlo and Rivera’s art with more than 120 works, including iconic paintings from and photographs of both artists.
Few artists have captured the public’s imagination with the force of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907 – 1954) and her husband, the Mexican painter and muralist Diego Rivera (1886 – 1957). The myths that surrounded them in their lifetimes arose not only from their significant bodies of work, but also from their active participation in the historical happenings of their time. Their work speaks of a fierce loyalty to and pride in Mexico, the ideals of the 1910 Mexican Revolution, and their commitment to the conditions of the common man.
The exhibition pairs together works by Kahlo and Rivera chronologically and according to themes, including maternity, Mexican identity and portraiture. While the exhibition positions the artists’ work in the political and artistic contexts of their time, “Frida & Diego” also examines the ways their work continues to influence Mexican artists, with two Frida- and Diego-inspired reading rooms designed by award-winning contemporary Mexican designers: Hector Esrawe and Ignacio Cadena. One reading room design features a bold red version of Frida’s iconic bed, while the other features a whimsical yellow installation inspired by the game of musical chairs.
In addition to these two contemporary reading room installations, which celebrate the continued influence of Kahlo and Rivera, the High also acquired two photographs of the artists to allow a trace of the show to remain with the museum’s permanent collection. One of the acquisitions, Martin Munkacsi’s “Diego and Frida,” is an intimate and tightly cropped portrait of the couple. Munkacsi’s photograph will be the first image visitors see as they enter the exhibition. A modern version of the second acquisition, “Frida Looking into Mirror (The Two Fridas),” by Lola Alvarez Bravo also appears in the exhibition.
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