Exhibitions on Frida Kahlo are rare and therefore particularly popular. The artist, who has been famous worldwide since the 1980s, is revered for her unsparing self-portraits and long-suffering biography. The complex relationship with her husband Diego Rivera plays a central role in both the Mexican artist's life and work.
Where will the most important Kahlo exhibitions take place in 2023? Only two new exhibitions have been announced so far. The Botanical Garden in Naples, Florida, is reconstructing Kahlo's Blue House and Garden. Under the title "Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution", the Art Gallery of South Australia in Adelaide is showing Mexican Modernism with Kahlo and Rivera at the center.
Kahlo, Sher-Gil, Stern: Modernist Identities in the Global South (until 22.2.2023)
Johannesburg | JCAF: Kahlo, Sher-Gil, Stern
Frida Kahlo, Amrita Sher-Gil and Irma Stern are presented together in an exhibition for the first time! The Joburg Contemporary Art Foundation (JCAF) is showing an interesting dialog between the Mexican, the Indian from Austria-Hungary and the South African with German roots until February 22, 2023. As the daughters of immigrants, they share experiences of otherness and internationality. All three received their art education in Europe or oriented themselves towards its forms. And all three belong to the global South. In the JCAF, one significant self-portrait or portrait is accompanied by portrait photographs of each of the artists. They illustrate how Kahlo, Sher-Gil and Stern constructed their identities as twofold, as (indigenous) women and as pioneers of modernity.
Frida and her garden (14.1-10.9.2023)
Florida | Naples Botanic Garden
Visitors to the botanical garden in Naples, Florida, are transported to Kahlo's garden in her home in Coyoacán, Mexico City, thanks to this exhibition. The centerpiece is a replica of the Casa Azul, also known as the Blue House. The reconstruction features huge animal sculptures decorated with Mexican folk art. Frida's creative oasis and her plants not only determined her life, but also influenced her art.
Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution (24.6 -17.9.2023)
Adelaide | Art Gallery of South Australia
In 2023, the Art Gallery of South Australia will present the largest exhibition of Mexican Modernism ever seen in Australia. For the first time in almost 30 years, Frida Kahlo's artworks will be exhibited in Adelaide. In total, the exhibition comprises more than 150 works, including historical garments, paintings, photographs and works on paper.
The works come from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. The Gelman couple were close friends of both artists and have amassed a considerable collection of Mexican modernist art. On display are well-known paintings by Frida Kahlo and her husband Diego Rivera as well as works by some of their most important Mexican contemporaries.