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Detroit Institute of Arts to stage Rivera-Kahlo exhibit of their time in Detroit

05 May 2014

The exhibition "Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit" will highlight the time Diego Rivera and his wife and fellow artist Frida Kahlo spent here while Rivera created the venerable "Detroit Industry" murals on four courtyard walls at the DIA — and Kahlo pursued her own art.

Rivera's preparatory drawings for "Detroit Industry," which have not been shown for 30 years, will be the centerpiece of the exhibition. And many of the works Kahlo created while living here will be shown for the first time in Detroit, DIA Director Graham Beal said.

That creative period, from April 1932 through March 1933, was a pivotal time for both artists.

"When Rivera was here, he was regarded as one of the most important artists in the world of western art at that time," Beal said.

Despite the recent politics and turmoil surrounding the DIA and the sanctity of the museum's artwork amid Detroit's bankruptcy, the museum has been successful in securing the loan of pieces by both artists, including some painted in other locations.

Those works include a 1931 Kahlo portrait of herself and Rivera as newlyweds, which will be on loan from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Rivera's "Flowered Barge," from the Museo Dolores Olmedo in Mexico City.

Check out this link to read the complete article by Sherri Welch on the event (Crain's Detroit Business website)