- Home page
- Exhibitions
- "Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera: Art and Life in Modern Mexico" at Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand
"Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera: Art and Life in Modern Mexico" at Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand
15 October 2022 | 22 January 2023Through more than 150 artworks, including Frida’s self-portraits and Diego’s paintings of Mexican life, the exhibition reveals how the artists played a crucial role in defining a new art following the Mexican Revolution.
Taking in Frida and Diego’s wider social and artistic circles, the exhibition includes the work of muralists David Siqueiros, Rufino Tamaro and María Izquierdo, whose star rivalled Frida’s own during their lifetimes.
A large collection of photography on display reveals mid-century Mexican life through the lenses of Lola Álvarez Bravo, Manuel Álvarez Bravo and Nickolas Muray.
The exhibition includes the Jacques and Natasha Gelman collection, the preminent private collection of Mexican modernism. Soon after their arrival in Mexico in the early 1940s, the Gelmans began collecting and commissioning art. They established friendships with Kahlo, Rivera and other artists, often commissioning portraits of themselves for the walls of their home.
Auckland Art Gallery curator, Julia Waite says, ‘Both Kahlo and Rivera made post-revolutionary Mexico an exciting centre for fellow painters, as well as poets, philosophers, photographers and writers. The Gelmans were embedded in the scene and their collection represents an important nucleus of Mexican modernism.’
Alongside the exhibition, Auckland Art Gallery has programmed a series of special events, including celebrations on the exhibition’s opening weekend, a lecture series, and ¡Viva México!, an unforgettable night of Mexican food, music, dance and art.
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
Cnr Kitchener and Wellesley Streets
Auckland, New Zealand
Read here Auckland Art Gallery press release.
Follow the link below for more info and special events.
