Frida Kahlo’s jewel-like paintings are among the most memorable and haunting images of the 20th century. Yet the artist, as an individual, continues to elude our understanding. At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the upcoming exhibition Frida: Beyond the Myth seeks to move past the mythology that still surrounds the Mexican artist by exploring and elucidating the inspiring woman behind the work.
In Kahlo’s iconic self-portraits, the artist continually reinvented herself, confronting her own trauma and pain through a complex system of symbolism embedded in her paintings. This exhibition, which includes 60 works of art in a variety of media, will delve deep into this imagery to reveal the specific incidents in her life that impacted her creativity and the construction of her identity.
Frida: Beyond the Myth showcases many of the artist’s most important self-portraits, still lifes, and portraits from the beginning of her career in 1926 until her death in 1954. The exhibition also features a selection of photographs of Kahlo by photographers, many of whom were close friends of the artist, including Lola Álvarez Bravo, Imogen Cunningham, Julien Levy, Dora Maar, and Nickolas Muray.
This extraordinary presentation of paintings, drawings, prints, and photographs offers a rare opportunity to explore the art of Frida Kahlo, whose strength, vulnerability, and sensuality still compel us today.
This exhibition is organized by the Dallas Museum of Art.
Presented by
TOP OF PAGE Frida on White Bench , New York (detail), 1939, Nickolas Muray (American, born Hungary, 1892–1965), Carbon pigment print. Private Collection ©️ Nickolas Muray Photo Archives, Licensed by Nickolas Muray Photo Archives