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Frida Kahlo already on view at the Drents Museum in the autumn of 2020

The major Frida Kahlo exhibition will be coming to the Drents Museum in Assen (the Netherlands) in the autumn of 2020 already. Viva la Frida! – Life and work of Frida Kahlo, which was initially scheduled for a period of three months in 2021, will now be on display for almost six months, from 11 October 2020 until 28 March 2021. What’s more, the exhibition has been expanded: in addition to the famous collection of paintings and drawings from the Museo Dolores Olmedo it will also present various biographical objects from the Museo Frida Kahlo, including clothing, corsets and jewellery. These two collections are now being combined for the first time in Viva la Frida!, offering the Drents Museum the unique opportunity to tell the whole Frida story. An accompanying exhibition will present contemporary works inspired by Frida Kahlo. Online ticketing of Viva la Frida! will start February 2020.

Unique combination of collections 
The Viva la Frida! exhibition will present a unique combination of Kahlo’s art and personal objects, for which the Drents Museum is working together with Museo Dolores Olmedo and Museo Frida Kaho (formerly the Casa Azul or the Blue House) in Mexico City. A few works borrowed from other collections will complete Viva la Frida.

Highlights Olmedo collection
The Olmedo has the largest collection of Frida Kahlo’s work worldwide. The collection was created by the Mexican Dolores Olmedo (1908-2002), who, on the advice of her good friend Diego Rivera, began buying Kahlo and Rivera’s work in 1955. Key pieces from this collection, such as Henry Ford Hospital (1932), The Broken Column (1944) and Self-Portrait with Small Monkey (1945), will be on view in Assen.

Personal possesions from the Blue House
From the Blue House, visitors of Viva la Frida! will also be able to admire the artist’s clothing, painted corsets and jewellery. In late 2003, many of Kahlo’s and Rivera’s possessions were rediscovered at the Blue House (now Museo Frida Kahlo) following 50 years of confinement. This extraordinary collection was made available to the public in 2007, following painstaking conservation, research and curation. It includes photograhs, documents, garments, as well as many of Kahlo’s personal possesions, drawings and toys.

Global icon and cult figure
The Mexican Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) is without doubt one of the best-known and most popular artists in the world. Her impressive works of art, turbulent life and unusual lifestyle turned her into a global icon and a cult figure. A devastating bus crash resulted in her suffering great pain and having to undergo numerous operations throughout her life. Her great love for art, her husband the artist Diego Rivera, and Mexico and its indigenous culture gave her the strength to carry on. She painted self-portraits interwoven with symbolism reflecting her private life. Many of her works were inspired by her tempestuous relationship with Rivera and her broken body. She broke all the taboos of her time and became a cult figure. Her art and lifestyle have inspired other artists such as Marina Abramovic, various fashion designers, including Jean Paul Gaultier, Moschino and Dolce & Gabbana, and musicians such as Madonna and the band Coldplay.
 
Viva la Frida will be accompanied by an extensive programme of additional activities. Aeroméxico is main sponsor of the exhibition.

 
 

Credits:
- Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait with Small Monkey, 1945, oil on masonite, Museo Dolores Olmedo, Mexico City
- Frida Kahlo, The Broken Column, 1944, oil on canvas, Museo Dolores Olmedo, Mexico City
- Frida Kahlo, Prosthetic Leg with Leather Boot, Appliqued Silk with Embroidered Chinese Motifs, Museo Frida Kahlo, Mexico City
- Frida Kahlo, Cotton Huipil with chain stitch embroidery; cotton skirt with printed floral motifs, Museo Frida Kahlo, Mexico City