‘Diego & Frida: Life Chronicles’ at gallery g which is a photo series of the two iconic artists of 20th century Mexico, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.
The exhibition consists of a series of photographs by various authors offering a journey through the lives of two iconic figures that were at the center of Mexican modernity. gallery g has associated with the Embassy of Mexico in India along with the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL) of Mexico and Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo. This special exhibition of photographs is to commemorate the 212th anniversary of Mexican Independence. This show consists 60 photo reprints which will be on show for the first time in India.
Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo are one of the most celebrated couples of Mexican art history. Their charismatic personalities helped to establish a movement which would have a definitive influence on the cultural life of 20th century Mexico. Together for almost twenty-five years (from their marriage in August 1929 until Frida’s death), their relationship was defined by a myriad of events and failed encounters which transcended the realm of the private to become part of the public domain.
The romantic union between Kahlo and Rivera brought together intellectuals, politicians, and celebrities. Their home was a place of gatherings, deliberations, and intrigue within the social and political life of Mexico. The intermittent periods during which they lived in the United States, due to commissions Rivera received, helped to shape their views on capitalism, progress, and revolution, but it was also a breaking point in their personal relationship.
Their return to Mexico marked another turning point: the couple separated towards the end of 1939 only to marry again one year later in San Francisco. This was a time of great activity and enthusiasm: Rivera was instrumental in the Mexican government’s decision to grant León Trotsky’s final asylum. Furthermore, the time both spent with André Breton, the founder of Surrealism, resulted in the promise of an exhibition which would take Frida Kahlo to Paris in 1939. Over the years, they created a network of artists and intellectuals who would become part of the modernizing forces of the country.
This exhibition is a collection of photographs of distinguished artists who were friends and colleagues of the couple, among them, Guillermo Kahlo, Guillermo Zamora, Vicente Contreras, and Ernesto Reyes. The images depict important moments in the lives of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. They also reflect the pain and physical deterioration of Kahlo, her political activism, including the last photograph taken of her in a politic demonstration, days before her death in July 1954.
Read the full story that first appeared in Svasa Life here:
