It was, by all accounts, a short, painful and tempestuous life. Frida Kahlo, (1906-1954) was born in Mexico City. When she was six, she was stricken by polio. As a young woman, she was badly injured in a horrendous bus accident, which left her body broken and compromised for the rest of her life.
But that life was a celebration—of herself, her art, her amazing courage and will, and her love-hate relationship with famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, to whom she was married twice. It also celebrated the life she found all around her—birds and insects, her pets, and most especially, the exuberant flora of her native land.
This summer, in its blockbuster exhibition, “Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life” the New York Botanical Garden has replicated the colorful native plants she so loved, punctuated by her paintings and those of related artists. As part of the celebration, they have reproduced her beloved “Casa Azul,:” her blue cottage in Mexico City.
Throughout the run of the exhibit, which is on until Nov. 1, the NYBG will host an amazing range of related events, including dance and music experiences, poetry readings, films, craft demonstrations and special events for children.
“Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life” is a wonderful tribute to an iconic woman artist, whose gifts, strengths and resiliency, and whose passionate love of nature, are a gift to all who see her work. And the exhibit is a gift to all who visit.
(For further information, check out www.nybg.org/frida/).
Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, 1940
Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin
© 2014 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York