A new exhibition at Tate Modern examining Frida Kahlo’s artistic legacy opened on June 25, according to galeriemagazine.com.
“Frida: The Making of an Icon” features more than 30 of the Mexican painter’s works alongside personal items and 200 pieces by artists she inspired.
Organised with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the exhibition runs at the London gallery until February 3. It presents Kahlo’s paintings and personal belongings, then surveys “Fridamania” through later galleries displaying works by artists influenced by her during and after her lifetime.
The show also addresses Kahlo’s links to Surrealism. Although Kahlo rejected the Surrealist label, figures including Leonor Fini and André Breton admired her work and counted her among their circle.
Born in 1907, Kahlo began painting as a child. Her work confronted ill health, gender roles and Mexican cultural iconography. During her life she was often identified as Mrs. Diego Rivera. Since her death she has become a feminist icon, with paintings selling for more than $50 million at auction.
Interim Director of Tate Modern Catherine Wood said demand for Kahlo reflected the “enduring power of her story and her work, which continues to resonate across cultures and communities, and inspire new generations of artists.” She added that the museum would offer “multiple entry points into her world; from the intimate space of the gallery to the shared experience of the public realm.”
Kahlo’s international profile has grown through major retrospectives at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Brooklyn Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. Her former homes in Mexico City are now museums.
London will host additional public works tied to the exhibition this summer, including outdoor murals and “¡Frida Icónica!”, an installation on Carnaby Street.
▪︎Featured image: Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait with Loose Hair(1946)/galeriemagazine.com/Courtesy Tate Modern