Acme Photo
Diego and Frida in NYC 1933
gelatin silver print
22.9 x 17.8 cm
Courtesy of Throckmorton Fine Art, Inc

We are delighted to distribute the catalog to accompany the exhibition, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera: From the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection, for the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The exhibition is now on view at AGNSW and has been extended until October 23, 2016 due to popular demand.

After the exhibition closes in Sydney, it will travel to the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona from April 9 – August 20, 2017.

Leading twentieth-century Mexican artists Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) and Diego Rivera (1886-1957) were internationally acclaimed in their lifetime, and their art and lives have continued to provoke and captivate audiences.

Their works demonstrate their fierce independence and the uniqueness of their artistic visions. Rivera’s art projected outward, often on a vast scale, and was concerned with the construction of a national identity in post-revolutionary Mexico; Kahlo’s art turned inward and represented Mexicanidad through an exploration of the artist’s own identity. Beyond their art, the lives of Kahlo and Rivera were socially and politically active and their union often volatile.

The corresponding book edited by Nicholas Chambers includes an introduction to their art and lives as well as an essay by Diego on Frida’s art written in 1943 and an essay by Frida on Diego’s art written in 1949.

Join the conversation #FridaDiegoSyd

It has been more than a decade since either Kahlo or Rivera’s work has been seen in depth in this country and, with no paintings by either artist in an Australian museum collection, the exhibition presents an important opportunity for audiences across the nation.—From the foreword by Michael Brand, Director, Art Gallery of New South Wales

Frida Kahlo
Self-portrait with monkeys 1943
oil on canvas
81.5 x 63 cm
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of Mexican Art
© 2016 Banco de Mexico Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico DF

Explore additional themes, images, and video resources on the exhibition site, including FRIDA and DIEGO: The Australian Years! (Episode 1) from Corner Table Productions:

Learn more about the lives and times of the artists in FRIDA and DIEGO: A Timeline.

Related events at Art Gallery New South Wales

Celebrity talks: Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera // Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m., August 10-31, 2016

Live music: Victor Valdes, with his Mexican Mariachi Band // Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m., August 10-31, 2016

Spanish-language lecture: Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera (Conferencia en español) // Wednesday, September 28, 2016 at 5:30 p.m.

Curator’s lecture: Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera // October 1, 2016 at 11 a.m. Free, bookings required.

Introductory talk: Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera // Saturdays and Wednesdays at 2:30 p.m., August 3 – October 8, 2016 (except August 27, 2016)

Listen to Art Gallery of NSW education curator Josephine Touma give an introduction to the exhibition.

Diego Rivera
Portrait of Natasha Gelman 1943
oil on canvas
115 x 153 cm
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of Mexican Art
© 2016 Banco de Mexico Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico DF

Importantly, the exhibition includes Kahlo and Rivera’s portraits of Natasha Gelman, both commissioned by her husband Jacques in 1943. European émigrés who met in Mexico City and became Mexican citizens, the Gelmans built a collection that is today regarded as the most important private holding of Mexican modern art.—From the foreword by Michael Brand, Director, Art Gallery of New South Wales

Bernard Silberstein
Frida with flowers in her hair c1940
gelatin silver print
35.6 x 27.9 cm
Courtesy of Throckmorton Fine Art, Inc
© Bernard Silberstein