News 2004 - 2003

31 December 2004

	November 24th, 2004 - Two Frida exhibitions scheduled in London in 2005 The photo exhibition "Frida Kahlo: Portraits of an Icon" will be at the National Portrait Gallery from 3rd February to 30th May 2005, while "Frida Kahlo", a big painting exhibition, will be organized by the Tate Modern, the first in Britain for ever twenty years, from 9th June to 2nd October 2005. Details from the National Portrait Gallery website Details from the Tate Modern website

	November 24th, 2004 - Frida's portraits by Nickolas Murray shown in Germany "Nickolas Murrey - Frida Kahlo Portraits" exhibition opened in Dusseldorf on November 19th. NRW-Forum Kultur und Wirtshaft, Ehrenhof 2, 40479 DUSSELDORF November 19, 2004 - January 2, 2005

	November 23rd, 2004 - Frida among great thinkers of our time "Live with History: Photographs from the Archive of the New York Times" features over one hundred photographs spanning a time period from the Civil War up to the aftermath of September 11, 2001. The room has a daunting atmosphere. Upon entering, one is surrounded by grandiose images of the great thinkers of our time, the famous presidents, artists, athletes, and activists, including Lincoln, FDR, Einstein, Mark Twain, Frida Kahlo, Louis Armstrong, Babe Ruth, and Martin Luther King, Jr. This exhibition features over 100 photographs drawn from the collection of New York Times photographs at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and from the archives of the New York Times. Images include landmark buildings in New York City (the World Trade Center, Grand Central Terminal); baseball scenes (Joe DiMaggio at bat, Mickey Mantle at Yankee Stadium); and views of historic events (Hindenburg exploding at Lakehurst, Wright brothers first flight). The exhibition constitutes a journey through the history of the twentieth century via photographs. Muscarelle Museum, Lamberson Hall, The College of William and Mary, WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA November 6, 2004 - January 9, 2005

	October15th, 2004 - One of Frida's painting at Sotheby's New York Sotheby's fall sale of Latin American Art on November 16-17, 2004 will include Frida Kahlo's signed Niña Tehucana, Lucha María (Sol y Luna) from 1942 (est. $800,000/1 million). together with other exceptional works by Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo, Claudio Bravo as well as offerings from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Two extraordinary paintings by Diego Rivera will be offered, highlighted by Maternidad, 1954, painted near the end of the artist's career, depicting a small child, Rivera's grandson and namesake, cradling a ball imprinted with a map of the world, while other children nearby amuse themselves with toys and a small bird (est. $900,000/$1.2 million). The other Rivera work is a portrait of Delfina Flores, 1937, perhaps the most famous of his young models. Delfina was the daughter of domestic servants in the Rivera household, and Rivera presents the young woman just emerging from her childhood (est. $700/900,000). This work is National Patrimony of Mexico and in accordance with Mexican law cannot leave the country. It will therefore not be on exhibit in New York but will be sold from the catalogue. Frida Kahlo's Niña Tehucana, Lucha María (Sol y Luna) was done shortly after Rivera and Diego reunited and married for the second time. Following their reconciliation, Pre-Columbian motifs appear in Kahlo's work with increasing frequency. In this work, she uses the sun/moon iconography in a serene and deceptively simple composition. In particular, the Mesoamerican concept of duality seems to echo the couple's own struggle for reconciliation of their disparate yet conjoined natures. This work is also National Patrimony of Mexico and in accordance with Mexican law cannot leave the country. Both Delfina Flores and Niña Tehucana, Lucha María (Sol y Luna) will be exhibited at Sotheby's Mexico (Campos Eliseos 325-5 Polanco) and may be viewed there by appointment. For more details follow this link.

	September 23rd, 2004 - Art.Com Joins Mexican Cultural Institute to Pay Homage to Frida Kahlo Art.com, the leading online retailer of art, has announced a new Competition and Call for Art -- 'In Homage to Frida Kahlo.' Working in conjunction with the Mexican Cultural Institute and Washington, D.C. based artist and critic F. Lennox Campello, Art.com will invite and showcase new portraits of the artist, or work that has been influenced by Kahlo, her life or her work in a collection to be displayed April 5 through July 6, 2005. Submissions are being accepted now through January 31, 2005. "We are pleased to participate in this collection of work to honor and celebrate one of the most influential figures from 21st-century Mexico," said the Honorable Alejandro Negrin Munoz, Cultural Minister of the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C. "Frida Kahlo's work and life had a tremendous impact in shaping international culture, and I can think of no one better to curate this collection than Mr. Campello, who has been an avid Kahlo student and admirer for 30 years." F. Lennox Campello is an award-winning artist and a widely published syndicated art critic whose reviews have been published in dozens of newspapers in the United States, Europe and Latin America. He is a frequent commentator about Washington, D.C. based art on National Public Radio and the Voice of America. Campello is the co-owner of the Fraser Gallery, with locations in Bethesda, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

	September 23rd, 2004 - Frida at MEXIQUEUROPE A few Frida's works will be shown at the Musée d'Art moderne Lille Métropole in France. More than 300 works of 74 artists coming from 68 public and private collections of Europe, Mexico and USA have been gathered for the Exhibition "MEXIQUEUROPE Allers-Retours, 1910-1960" - 4 Sept 2004 / 16 Jan 2005. Musée d'Art moderne Lille Métropole 1 Allée du Musée 59650 VILLENEUVE D'ASCQ

	September 23rd, 2004 - "MOI! Autoportraits du XXe siècle" moves to Italy The exhibition of self-portraits showing some of the most renowned names in 20th century art will be in Florence at Loggiato di Ponente degli Uffizi, Corridoio Vasariano from 18 Sept. 2004 to 9 Jan. 2005

	July 15th, 2004 - Frida Kahlo's name becomes a trademark Mexico this week marks the 50th anniversary of Frida Kahlo's death with a series of retrospectives but also with the launching of a line of products bearing her name. To mark the anniversary, her niece Isolda Pinedo Kahlo will launch this week the "Frida Kahlo" line, that includes shawls, jewelry and sunglasses. Prices start at US$100. The Kahlo family, which did not inherit the artist's works, has registered the name and signature of the painter as a trademark. "The family has the right to use the name commercially," said Alejandro Trad, who is Pinedo Kahlo's business representative. (AFP , MEXICO CITY ,Thursday, Jul 15, 2004,Page 16)

	July 15th, 2004 - The photographs of Frida and Diego in Washington D.C. At the Cultural Institute of Mexico, a show of nearly 100 photographs of the couple's life together, along with a few shots from their childhoods, amounts to a lovers' history writ larger than life. Photographs by Guillermo Kahlo, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Edward Weston and others. "Diego y Frida: A Smile in the Middle of the Road" at the Cultural Institute of Mexico, 2829 16th St. NW, June17 - Aug. 27.

	July 6th, 2004 - A new version of Frida's death? "Frida intima", a new book by Isolda Pinedo Kahlo, niece of Frida, is set to reveal secrets about the artist's life including that Frida may have been helped by Diego Rivera to end her life. The book, presented by Elena Poniatowska, will be launched on July 14th in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Argentina and Spain. The design of the book, including seven chapters each one dedicated to different aspects and characters of Frida's life, is excellent and sophisticated.

	June 14th, 2004 - 50 years from Frida's death A series of art-related events are being staged throughout Mexico this year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Frida. The recently restored Frida Kahlo Museum, housed in Kahlo's childhood home in Mexico City, is hosting the largest exposition of the artist's work to date. Along with the 46 oil paintings, the museum offers visitors the chance to glimpse into Kahlo's life -- the house was where she was born, grew up and later lived with her famed muralist husband Diego Rivera from 1941 until her death at age 47 in 1954. For further info about other events go to my Frida Cult page

	May 21st, 2004 - Morimura inspired by Frida in Los Angeles at "Made in Mexico" show The first exhibition in Los Angeles to fully explore Mexico City's role as a global metropolitan center of contemporary art, Made in Mexico presents paintings, photographs, sculpture, installations, and videos by 19 international artists. Created in and inspired by Mexico, the works in the exhibition reflect the international influence exerted by the thriving Mexico City art community. Of special interest Yasumasa Morimura's work dedicated to Frida. UCLA Hammer Museum from June 6 through September 12, 2004. Go to my page dedicated to Yasumasa Morimura

	April 24th, 2004 - Frida pilgrimage by Taos Art School The TAOS ART SCHOOL, a college credited art school in Taos New Mexico presents The Frida Pilgrimage, 2004 August 1-8, which is set up for Frida Fans who would like an opportunity to: See the Mexico City Frida knew - Experience the Culture that inspired Frida - Visit her home - See her Art first-hand. For more information check out this web site

	April 21st, 2004 - Frida in Paris among famous self-portraits of the most renowned names in 20th century art "MOI! Autoportraits du XXe siècle" (Me! Self-portraits of the 20th Century) is the title of the exhibition of self-portraits by some of the most renowned names in 20th century art., opened on March 31 in Paris, France, at the Musee du Luxembourg. The show includes such world-famous artists as Picasso, Matisse, Degas ... and Frida!! The exhibition will run through July 25, 2004, at the Musée du Luxembourg and will travel to the Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, Italy, in September.

	February 20th, 2004 - Matiz photographs in Turin - Italy "Uno sguardo sul Messico degli anni Quaranta" is the title of this photographs exhibition taking place in Turin at the Fnac Gallery from Febr. 16 to Apr. 17 2004.

	October 10th, 2003 - "Self-Portrait with Curly Hair" for sale Frida's 1935 "Self-Portrait with Curly Hair" is to be auctioned next month by Christie's in New York. The 1935 portrait is one of the few depicting Kahlo with short hair. She cut her trademark long hair to avenge her husband and fellow painter Diego Rivera's affair with her younger sister Cristina. The painting is to be the centerpiece of an auction featuring Latin American works on November 18-19. The small, 18.2 by 15.2 centimeter (7 by 6 inch) painting is expected to bring between 1.5 and two million dollars. The price includes a second work, a sketch for a second portrait etched on the back.

	August 29th, 2003 - Frida's Intimate Family Picture at The Jewish Museum in N.Y. The Jewish Museum will present Frida Kahlo's Intimate Family Picture from September 5, 2003 through January 4, 2004. The exhibition focuses on Frida Kahlo's 1936 painting, entitled My Grandparents, My Parents, and I and presents a new perspective on the renowned Mexican artist. In addition to the original painting and a detailed preparatory sketch, exhibition visitors will be able to see documentary materials that influenced the painting's imagery such as reproductions of Kahlo's parents' wedding picture, Henri Rousseau's The Present and the Past, a Nazi genealogical chart, and a medical illustration from Kahlo's library. The show provides insights into Kahlo's work and reveals important aspects of her hybrid and multicultural identity, as the daughter of a European Jew and a Mexican Catholic mestiza (a woman of mixed European and Mexican Indian descent). A selection of seven vintage photographs of Frida Kahlo taken by her father, Wilhelm (Guillermo) Kahlo, a German-Jewish immigrant to Mexico, will illuminate the father and daughter relationship. The exhibition guest curator of Frida Kahlo's Intimate Family Picture is Dr. Gannit Ankori, a lecturer at the Department of Art History at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and author of Imaging Her Selves: Frida Kahlo's Poetics of Identity and Fragmentation (2002). The Jewish Museum 1109 Fifth Avenue - 92nd Street - Manhattan Other details at the Jewish Museum site

	August 6th, 2003 - "Painted Bread" played by Theatre Group Melissa Lucero McCarl's award-winning "Painted Bread" will be in in repertory through Sept. 14 at Theatre on Broadway, Denver. "Painted Bread" is a stunning work that still resonates from seeing it sweep the 1997 Colorado Women Playwrights Festival at the Denver Civic. It tells the story of Frida's life as her notorious paintings come to life through the eyes and narration of a museum guide who is missing something in her own life. Despite the accolades "Painted Bread" won in '97, it took Julie Taymor's 2002 Oscar-winning film "Frida" to resurrect interest in McCarl's play. read a review from the Rocky Mountain News

	August 3rd, 2003 - Soon a big show of Frida's paintings in Milan From 9 Oct. 2003 to 8 Feb. 2004 Italian people will have the chance to see Frida' s 25 paintings coming from the Dolores Olmedo Platino collection, wholly abroad for the first time. The large retrospective will include also photographs underlining the most significant steps of Frida's life and other paintings coming from international loans. The exhibition is edited by Achille Bonito Oliva and Vincenzo Sanfo. October 9th 2003- Feb. 8th 2004 Museo della Permanente, Milan, Italy

	July 31st, 2003 - "Women Surrealists in Mexico" exhibition in Japan The exhibition Women Surrealists in Mexico (Japanese title, "Frida Kahlo to Sono Jidai"), now open at Bunkamura The Museum in Shibuya, Tokyo, features 130 works by seven female artists who were active in Mexico in the 1920s through 1960s. They include five painters--Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), Maria Izquierdo (1902-1955), Remedios Varo (1908-1963), Leonora Carrington (1917-) and Alice Rahon (1904-1987)--and two photographers--Lola Alvarez Bravo (1905-1993) and Kati Horna (1912-2000). There are almost 30 Kahlo treasures here, by far the most ever assembled in Japan. They are mostly oil and canvas paintings, and among them are many of the self-portraits that Kahlo is best known for. July19th - Sept. 9th

	February 19th, 2003 - A new book about Frida' pictures "Frida Kahlo: Portraits of an Icon" will be published next month by Bloomsbury. In her article "The look of a warrior" Zoe William writes: "If her relentless feats of physical endurance are legible from her own paintings, they are nowhere visible in these photographs. It must be some kind of optical illusion cast by the unflinching, unsmiling eyes, but she has a hero's stature and a disarming physical presence. Even in death, her face is full of thought and challenge". Taken from The Guardian Unlimited:

	January 31st, 2003 - Gelman Collection in Chicago The exhibition - "Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and 20th-Century Mexican Art: The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection" shall be shown at the recently expanded Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum in Chicago from Jan. 24 to Apr. 27, 2003. For further info on this exhibition: