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Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Mexican Modernism

Painting of Frida Kahlo with a white veil and purple and white flowers framing her face and a small image of Diego Rivera on her forehead
Frida Kahlo (Mexican, 1907–1954), Diego on My Mind (Self-Portrait as Tehuana) (detail), 1943. Oil on Masonite; 29.9 × 24 in (76 × 61 cm). The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th-Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation and MondoMostre in collaboration with the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL). © 2022 Banco de Mexico Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F./ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo by Gerardo Suter
Feb 19, 2022 - Jun 5, 2022
Portland Art Museum
1219 SW Park Ave, Portland, OR
General accessibility

From the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection

Overview

Opening February 19, 2022, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Mexican Modernism from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection is a fascinating exploration of the Avant-Garde cultural movement in Mexico in the early 20th century. Featuring over 150 works, including paintings and works on paper collected by Jacques and Natasha Gelman alongside photographs and period clothing, the exhibition presents cherished works by iconic artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in the broader context of Mexican Modernism, including artwork by Manuel and Lola Álvarez Bravo, Miguel Covarrubias, Gunther Gerzso, María Izquierdo, Carlos Mérida, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Juan Soriano, Rufino Tamayo and others. The Gelmans’ close relationship with this community is underscored by the number of portraits of them made by their artist friends in the exhibition. Photographs related to Kahlo, Rivera, and their enduring legacy by a global roster of artists including Lucienne Bloch, Imogen Cunningham, Juan Guzmán, Graciela Iturbide, Nickolas Muray, Edward Weston, and Guillermo Kahlo—Frida’s father—help round out our understanding of these beloved painters.

Organized by the Vergel Foundation and MondoMostre in collaboration with the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL). Coordinated for Portland Art Museum by Sara Krajewski, The Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Painting of Frida Kahlo with a white veil and purple and white flowers framing her face and a small image of Diego Rivera on her forehead
Frida Kahlo (Mexican, 1907–1954), Diego on My Mind (Self-Portrait as Tehuana), 1943. Oil on Masonite; 29.9 × 24 in (76 × 61 cm). The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th-Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation and MondoMostre in collaboration with the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (INBAL). © 2022 Banco de Mexico Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F./ Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo by Gerardo Suter

Resources

Accessible exhibition texts and labels (English)
Accessible exhibition texts and labels (Espanol)
Illustration of a children's activity guide with a drawing of Diego Rivera with his arm around Frida Kahlo in front of mountains, plants, and a pink sky. Above their heads, it says "Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera Activity Guide" against a red background with white polka dots.
Activity guide (English/Espanol)
Download
Screen shot of a YouTube video with a photo of Frida Kahlo and the words Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Mexican Modernism with Sara Krajewski
Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Mexican Modernism with Sara Krajewski
Watch on YouTube

The Portland Art Museum collaborated with Professor Ximena Keogh Serrano and her students at Pacific University to create videos introducing some of the central concepts and works in the exhibition. Videos are captioned in both Spanish and English. Click the gear icon for settings to change caption language.

Wild Woman

A white cape with the image of a standing naked woman on it. To the left of her ankle is a fetus; to the right is an anatomical heart and a hand.
Wild Woman Fashion Pop-Up, a collaboration between Portland-based Mexican designer Myriam Marcela De Anda and textile artist Laura Renée Maier

From May 4th through June 5th, the Museum is partnering with designer Myriam Marcela and textile artist Laura Renée Maier in a pop-up exhibition of their luxury clothing collection, WILD WOMAN.  Inspired by the January 2017 Women’s March, the WILD WOMAN collection highlights unity across borders, women’s empowerment, and the act of giving back.  In response to works on view in Mexican Modernism, Marcela and Maier will present their latest piece in the collection, Magdalena, a cape that takes inspiration from Kahlo’s lithograph, Frida and the Miscarriage (1932). The future goal for the collection is to auction each piece in the WILD WOMAN series, donating 100% of the proceeds to Fondo Semillas, a non-profit organization that works to improve women’s lives in Mexico.  To learn more about WILD WOMAN, join the creators for a virtual artist talk on Thursday, May 12th at 5:30 PM. 

Myriam Marcela De Anda was born in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon and has been living in Portland, OR for the last twenty years. Since studying fashion design in Guadalajara, Mexico, Marcela has evolved into a designer with a mission to bring more sustainability and purpose to her work in the fashion industry. It is with this intention that she began her own label, Myriam Marcela. Her work is primarily done by hand, giving texture and dimension to her designs. As a couturier with an acute sense of detail and an appreciation for bold colors and blended patterns, Marcela finds her passion through creating one-of-a-kind custom pieces for all women that are intended to last a lifetime. 

Laura Renée Maier is a figurative artist with a focus on textiles and technological mediums. In her works, texture is deeply connected to human memory and the metaphysical body. In her textile pieces, Laura Renée utilizes an antique hand-crank sewing machine to meticulously stitch figures in a months-long meditative practice. Laura Renée explores the convergence of tech and traditional manual practices as a vehicle to further investigate the concepts of the human figure and the physical embodiment of memory in a medium that reflects our continuous human evolution. Laura Renée is originally from Seattle, Washington and currently lives and works between New York and Bogotá, Colombia. 

Creation of the WILD WOMAN Magdalena Cape is supported by the Portland Art Museum, the Meriwether Group, Otiima and Scarlet Chamberlin Styling Co. 

Murals

Metamorphosis mural by artists Hector Hernandez, Angennette Escobar, Christian J. Barrios and Victor Hugo Garza
“Metamorphosis” mural by artists Hector Hernandez, Angennette Escobar, Christian J. Barrios and Victor Hugo Garza
"Frida and Diego are here" mural by IDEAL PDX (Daniel Santollo, William Hernandez, Jessica Lagunas, José Solis, and Romina Del Castillo)
“Frida and Diego are here” mural by IDEAL PDX: Daniel Santollo, William Hernandez, Jessica Lagunas, José Solis, and Romina Del Castillo

During the run of Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Mexican Modernism, the Museum is excited to partner with two collective groups of artists for live mural painting in the Schnitzer Courtyard. The first collaboration includes artists Hector Hernandez, Angennette Escobar, Christian Barrios and Victor Hugo Garza working from March 2nd through April 2nd in both a tryptic mural and video projection art. The second collaboration consists of IDEAL PDX artists Jessica Lagunas, William Hernandez, Romina del Castillo, José Solis and Daniel Santollo, who will work together on a large-scale mural from April 8th through May 29th. Working during public hours, these artists encourage and welcome audience questions and conversation.

To learn more about these projects and the artists behind them, check out the Related content below.

Related content

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    • Acknowledgements

    Presenting Sponsors

    • The Laura and Roger Meier Family
    • Jordan Schnitzer
    • Harold & Arlene Schnitzer Care Foundation

    Lead Corporate Sponsor

    • Bank of America

    Major Sponsors

    • Mary Beth and Roger Burpee
    • Cooper and Sanda DuBois
    • Mr. and Mrs. William Whitsell
    • The Standard
    • National Endowment for the Arts

    Sponsors

    • Boeing
    • Ed Cauduro Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation
    • Ferguson Wellman Capital Management
    • Drs. Dolores and Fernando Leon
    • Oregon Arts Commission
    • Greg and Cathy Tibbles
    • Dan Wieden and Priscilla Bernard Wieden

    Supporters

    • Stephanie Fowler and Irving Levin of The Renaissance Foundation
    • Mark and Katherine Frandsen
    • Judy and Hank Hummelt
    • Lina Garcia Seabold and Steve Seabold
    • Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust
    • Robert Trotman Interior Design
    • Wells Fargo Foundation
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