News 2011

31 December 2011

	December 26th, 2011 - "Dreams of Mexico" at Cihangir’s Pilot Gallery - Istanbul, Turkey A panoramic series of eight computer-generated photographs, Borlakov’s historical fantasy “Dreams of Mexico” presents a sequence of events between the married artist couple Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, the Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist Leon Trotsky, his secretary Sylvia Ageloff, assassin Ramon Mercader and would-be assassin David Alfaro Siqueiros. Speaking in an interview with Today’s Zaman, he explained that his latest project is focused on the immensity and unpredictability of possibilities that define history. "The series begins with the image of the six characters sitting side by side on a swing and then disperses out into the characters’ separate ‘dreams,’ depicted in the other seven images. My aim behind the exhibition was to reintroduce these very important figures in history to modern audiences and breathe light and new meaning into their stories. “The base appeal of these particular characters and their intertwined stories is that in these relationships we have everything -- politics, love, revenge, hatred, murder and, of course, art -- in many ways it is perfect theater material. For me there was a lot of scope to embrace all sorts of absurd, yet at the same time plausible, possibilities, which was what really inspired me to pursue the project." A body of work which Borlakov has been working on for six years, the individuals featured in the series are actors and models bearing semblances of similarity to their characters. "I found my six actors, which did take a while, and then completed the photo shoots and began adapting and working on the images digitally," he explained. 8 December 2011 21 January 2012 Pilot Gallery, S\|raselviler Caddesi No.83/2 , Istanbul read full Today's Zaman article Pilot Gallery

	November 24th, 2011 - "Frida Kahlo: Her photos" at Museo da Cidade - Lisbon, Portugal Casa da America Latina in Lisbon organizes the first international exhibition of 257 photographs revealing moments of this extraordinary figure’s life in Frida Kahlo: Her Photos. When Kahlo died, husband Rivera asked the poet Carlos Pellicer to turn her home, Casa Azul, into a museum that the people of Mexico could visit to admire the work of the artist. Pellicer went through Kahlo’s belongings and selected key paintings, drawings, photographs, books, and ceramics, to display in the museum. The remaining objects, clothing, documents, drawings, letters…and over 6,000 photographs…were boxed up and put into storage. This remarkable collection remained hidden for more than half a century. In 2007, the storerooms, wardrobes, and trunks that safeguarded it were opened. The collection of photographs, in particular, is a treasure that reveals the tastes and interests of Kahlo and Rivera, not only through the images themselves but also through the annotations scribbled on the photos. The exhibition is not intended to be a chronology of Kahlo’s life and work, but rather to show moments reflecting her personal history, intimacy and lifestyle in Mexico at that time. Photos are divided into six sections: parents, William and Matilda; Casa Azul; the “damaged body;” the loves of Frida; her own photographic works; and political struggle. Many important figures from the time make appearances in the photos, including: André Breton, Leon Trotsky, Marcel Duchamp, Henry Ford, Siqueiros and Paulette Goddard. 4 November 2011 29 January 2012 Pavilhão Preto, Campo Grande, nº 245, Lisbon, Portugal more info at this link

	July 1st, 2011 - "Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera" at Pallant House Gallery - Chichester UK This major touring exhibition, showing masterpieces from The Gelman Collection, comes to Chichester from Istanbul and Dublin and brings together works by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera for the first time ever in the UK. Collecting was Jacques and Natasha Gelman' s passion, beginning around 1943. Like their friends Frida and Diego they had been unable to bear children so their collection was their surrogate family. Mexico had adopted the Gelmans and given them refuge. It became their aim to support contemporary Mexican artists. 9 July 2 October 2011 Pallant House Gallery, 9 North Pallant, Chichester, West Sussex, UK go to guardian.co.uk to see the paintings "Does it make sense to show the two artists together? American artist Judy Chicago recently in the UK to promote her book, Frida Kahlo: Face to Face thinks not. When we meet in London, she is outraged that Kahlo continues to be viewed through the prism of her husband; it means, she says, that her work is forever seen as reactive." read the complete article by Joanna Moorhead in the Guardian

	April 17th, 2011 - "Frida K." by Valeria Moretti on stage in Rome Frida Kahlo returns to live in the solo play “FRIDA K.” by Valeria Moretti, put on stage and starred by Enrica Rosso at the Teatro Arvalia in Rome on April 21st, 2011. go to my Theater page for more info

	February 11th, 2011 - Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera from the Gelman Collection in Istanbul Collectors Jacques and Natasha Gelman spent a significant portion of their lives in Mexico; the works included in the couple's extensive collection, which also encompasses 20th century Mexican art, include the most outstanding Frida Kahlo self-portraits, which reflect the profound traces of her artistic personality, as well as rare examples of Diego Rivera's canvas paintings. This globally acclaimed collection was previously presented to audiences through a limited number of exhibitions outside of Mexico. Apart from the most favored Kahlo works of the Frida Kahlo Retrospective organized in Berlin and Vienna in 2010, the exhibition at Pera Museum also includes Diego Rivera's paintings. Visitors can also dip in and out of a 40-minute film in which people describe their encounters with Frida. Pera Museum, Mesrutiyet Caddesi, 34443 Tepebasi, Beyoglu - Istanbul 23rd December 2010 - 20th March 2011 go to the exhibition web site

	January 15th, 2011 - Permanent Frida Exhibition at Kunstmuseum Gehrke-Remund, Baden Baden, Germany The Permanent Exhibition: Frida Kahlo "Viva la Vida" in Baden Baden is made of hand-painted by master artists licensed Replicas © Banco de México Diego Rivera & Frida. This is the most complete Frida Kahlo oil paintings exhibition of all times, with over 600 sqm (6000 sq feet) exhibition surface and over 116 replicas of her paintings. These unique replicas have been painted exclusively for the Kunstmuseum Gehrke-Remund by master artists, and can be found exclusively in the Kunstmuseum Gehrke-Remund. They are painted in the original size, with the original materials (oil on canvas, oil on wood/metal or glas), and in exactly the same style as Frida Kahlo painted them. In addition to her work, the museum shows clothes and jewelry. Moreover, they have recreated the garden of the Casa Azul (The blue house: the family house of Frida Kahlo) with its Aztec pyramid and pre-Columbian figures. During 2010 the Kunstmuseum Gehrke-Remund researched what influence Wilhelm Kahlo had on Frida Kahlo based on the books he used to read. Starting on January 12 2011, the Kunstmuseum Gehrke-Remund will present the “Wilhelm Kahlo Studio”, a special room dedicated to Wilhelm Kahlo. There the museum visitors will find the “Portrait of My Father”, 1951, oil on masonite, a collection of antique books which represent what Wilhelm Kahlo used to read, and original French antique furniture of around 1890. Furthermore, to celebrate the first year of the Museum and the Frida Kahlo collection, they will exhibit an important painting of Frida Kahlo, "The Wounded Table". Frida Kahlo painted it in 1940 and it disappeared in 1955 on its way to an exhibition in Moscow. Till today the painting is considered as lost." go to the museum web site