frida kahlo

Frida Kahlo. I don't know much about her but I what I do is that she is remembered for her self-portraits, pain and passion, and bold, vibrant colors. She is celebrated in Mexico for her attention to Mexican and indigenous culture and by feminists for her depiction of the female experience and form. She nearly died in a bus accident and was married to artist Diego Rivera. Life experience is a common theme in her work.

The main reason for our recent trip to Chicago was to babysit our little grandson. Our daughter and son-in-law had a weekend full of wedding duties and festivities. We had a half day on Friday where the time was ours and on a bright and sunshiny morning we ventured to the Art Institute of Chicago to see the new exhibit, "Frida Kahlo's Month in Paris." This was the first time her work had been displayed at the AIC.

Kahlo traveled to France in January 1939 at the invitation of André Breton, the architect of European Surrealism. Breton had visited Kahlo in Mexico the year previously and invited her to consider an exhibition in Paris. The French city, however, did not agree with Kahlo. She quickly found it eroding her sense of artistic freedom and her health - until she met Mary Reynolds, an American bookbinder who stood at the center of a rich Parisian artistic community.

This exhibit draws upon the extensive Mary Reynolds Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago and extraordinary Kahlo loans from public and private collections. The presentation sheds light on the legacies of Kahlo and Reynolds as they navigated Surrealism, identity, and cross-cultural exchange on the eve of World War II.

I was a little disappointed in this exhibition. The focus was more on Mary Reynolds, whom I had not heard of. Using Frida Kahlo's name was the draw with more of Mary Reynolds' work shown. Reynolds lead a very interesting life and her bookbinding is stunning. Both women's art was displayed in three rooms that flowed into one another but it was hard to spend anytime reading about the art because of the number of people crowding around the various works and just milling around. 

For me looking at art is never a waste of time. Seeing an original piece of art in a museum is a wow moment, offering reflection and admiration that a reproduction can't provide. Seeing the vibrancy of the colors, the brush strokes, staring at details, are moments in real life that a reproduction doesn't offer.