"The Love and Revolution of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera: Exploring the Art and Lives of Two Iconic Artists and Their Entrepreneurial Patrons"
Key Highlights :
The Art Gallery of South Australia is currently hosting a rare exhibition of art by two of Mexico's most iconic artists: Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Titled Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution, the show paints a picture of the couple's volatile relationship, as well as the fascinating story of their patrons, Jacques and Natasha Gelman.
The Gelmans were entrepreneurs who led an incredible life, according to collection curator Magda Carranza de Akle. Jacques was originally from Russia, Natasha from Czechoslovakia, and the couple met in Mexico City and married there in 1941, later becoming Mexican citizens. While the artists had a notoriously tempestuous relationship (both had numerous affairs), the Gelmans were able to agree on the artwork they acquired for their substantial and valuable collection.
The Gelmans began their relationship with the two artists in 1943, when Jacques commissioned Frida Kahlo to paint a portrait of his wife. Kahlo's portrait of Natasha is small, intimate and sober, showing her unsmiling in jewels and pearls - even the framing is an exquisite part of the picture. Rivera's large scale effort has her reclining on a couch in a glamorous white dress and jewels, surrounded by lilies, like a film star. The couple became supporters of the artists as well as other Mexican Modernists, and purchased what would become one of Kahlo's most famous works, Diego on My Mind, that same year.
The show provides an insight into the Gelman's connoisseurship, according to AGSA curator Tansy Curtin - and they had very good taste. As for Kahlo and Rivera, it's superficial to focus on their volatile personal lives above their art, she said. "We as human beings love to try and unpack it... we love those kinds of salacious details." "They were obviously an incredibly intellectual couple, and I don't think we can necessarily understand their relationship."
One fascinating part of the show is a home video Curtin tracked down of Kahlo and Rivera, in which the affection between the two artists is obvious. Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution is open at the Art Gallery of South Australia from Saturday, providing an opportunity for visitors to explore the lives and art of two of Mexico's most iconic artists, as well as the fascinating story of their entrepreneurial patrons, the Gelmans.
