The exhibition
FRIDA KAHLO. Una vita per immagini is a tribute to Frida Kahlo, an international renowned artist, as well as an icon not only of feminism, but also of multiculturalism. A sort of ‘photo album’ that reconstructs the often painful but always passionate events in her life, as well as the artist’s loves, friends, and adventures.
The exhibition begins by presenting the context where such a unique personality developed: early 20th century Mexico undergoing a revolution that changed its history, thanks to humble campesinos and heroic characters such as Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata. The epic and myth of the Mexican revolution would remain impressed in Frida’s mind and shape her indomitable character, driving her rebellious nature against bourgeois conventions and the rules of a strongly sexist society. This is the context where the events of the Kahlo family unfolded. Guillermo, her father, was a professional photographer of German descent, who came to Mexico in 1891 and soon fell in love with the country that had welcomed him.
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Frida’s troubled biographical events are narrated through a hundred of mostly original photographs, taken by Guillermo Kahlo himself during his daughter’s childhood and youth, and then by some of the greatest photographers of her time: Imogen Cunningham, Edward Weston, Lucienne Bloch, Bernard Silberstein, Leo Matiz, Manuel and Lola Álvarez Bravo, Nickolas Muray, among others.
Diego Rivera – the great painter and muralist – is often portrayed alongside Frida. The two had an intense and stormy relationship, which spanned much of her lifetime. Other important celebrities, such as Leon Trotsky and André Breton, are also portrayed.
On display, there is also a group of very intimate small photographs of Frida taken by the gallerist Julien Levy, as well as some documents like the original catalogue of Frida’s exhibition organised by André Breton in Paris, and the first “manifesto of revolutionary painting” signed by Breton and Rivera. Moreover, (there are) some lithographic works by Rufino Tamayo and a photographic documentation of the famous Casa Azul. At the end of the exhibition is presented a video that collects the few filmed images of the great Mexican artist.
The exhibition Frida Kahlo. Una vita per immagini, curated by Vincenzo Sanfo, is promoted by the City of Riccione, Department of Culture and organised by Civita Mostre e Musei together with Rjma Progetti culturali and Diffusione Italia International Group.
