Do you remember the 2002 movie “Frida” with Salma Hayek in the title role? It is largely thanks to this movie that the figure of the artist entered the global pop culture, her paintings found their way into the consciousness of even people not particularly interested in art, and the story of her uneasy relationship with Diego Rivera became widely known. Frida Kahlo is a legend, an icon, a cult figure and a charismatic individual, in my opinion, more than Diego and I must admit that I went to the “Love Revolution” exhibition mainly because of her. Twice.
The exhibition can be seen until October 3rd in the Cobra Museum in Amstelveen. http://www.cobra-museum.nl Important: The museum is open every day from 10 am to 10 pm until the end of the exhibition! It presents not only works by Frida & Diego, but also those by many other great artists who worked in Mexico in the first half of the 20th century. All paintings and photographs are from The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. Jacques Gelman was a very successful film producer who escaped from Europe to Mexico in early days of Nazi regime in Germany. He and his wife, Natasha shared passion for contemporary art, as well as great intuition inspiring them to purchase works from young, mostly yet unknown artists, who turned out to be admired and famous in later years. The Gelmans build up a remarkable art collection that included both 20th century Mexican and European art. Their European art Collection is presently owned by the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The Mexican art collection is managed by the Vergel Foundation, now on show in Cobra Museum, Amstelveen.
Thanks to the fact that this is not a monographic exhibition devoted only to Frida and Diego but presents a coherent art collection with a comprehensive commentary, the artists’ works and life stories are easier to place in a historical context. They are therefore more readable to the contemporary viewer, even if little is known about Mexican history in the 20th century.
Mexican art of this period is not easy to understand, and I do not know it well enough to write or comment on it. I would just like to say that the exhibition is very well worth a visit. The works from the Vergel Foundation collection were created a few decades ago but the issues that inspired the artists are still relevant today and resonate in the public discourse conducted in many places around the world. I don’t mean universal issues such as love, fear, suffering or passion, but opposition to all forms of colonialism, the rights of women or the disabled. It is also worth seeing how aesthetic conventions were broken, how seemingly distant cultures met to create a new, harmonious quality, how they complement each other because they stem from human emotions that we all experience the same way, regardless of time and place. And finally, to know better Frida Kahlo, so far, the most recognizable female artist of all times. A passionate painter, lover, dedicated communist, unbelievably strong spirit in a frail, vulnerable, suffering body.
The last part of the exhibition was a real bonus, completely unexpected but very rewarding – 25 of Frida’s dresses that she was almost as famous for as she was for her paintings. Those presented in Cobra Museum are not the authentic pieces she once wore but lovingly recreated sets based on photographs and self-portraits .In many aspects of life Frida felt thorn between her European heritage (her father was German) and Mexican culture she grew up with and felt connected with through her mother. It was Diego Rivera who encouraged her to wear dresses inspired with traditional Mexican clothes instead of Western fashion. Frida designed most of her dresses and with the help of her mother adopted them so that they could hide her leg braces. So colorful and unique, it did not surprise me to learn that Frida’s wardrobe was featured in several exhibitions before, in Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 2018 and in Arken Museum of Modern Art. In Copenhagen in 2014.
I am absolutely convinced that the exhibition in Cobra Museum is on top of the list of key art events in the Netherlands this year and one not to be missed!