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Thursday, June 09, 2005
Frida Kahlo
Tate Modern: 9 June - 9 October 2005
Frida Kahlo Self-Portrait with Monkey 1938 Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo NY Bequest of A. Conger Goodyear, 1966. © Banco de México and INBAL, Mexico, 2005
he first UK solo show devoted to this celebrated Mexican artist, including several poignantly beautiful self portraits and lush and erotic still lifes. The Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) is now regarded as one of the most significant artists of the twentieth century and this will be the first major UK exhibition dedicated to her work to take place for over twenty years. Severely injured in a bus crash in her youth, Kahlo took up painting when confined to her bed. Kahlo's life was changed forever by the accident and the portrayal of her body, wracked with pain, is a recurring theme in her paintings. Kahlo said that there were two accidents in her life - the second was her tempestuous relationship with the renowned Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. It is in her iconic self portraits, unrivalled in their poignant beauty, that Kahlo depicts both her isolation and also her indomitable spirit and sense of self. The exhibition also reveals the less well-known aspects of her work; her powerful political insights about national identity, the plight of the poor, the march of technology and Mexico's relationship with it's neighbour the USA. ...