Number 27 - Frida Kahlo at Caixa Cultural

I have declared this my Frida Kahlo year! The famous Mexican artist has always been one of my favorites, but I had never seen her paintings "up close and for real". My first chance came as the exhibition:  " Frida Kahlo - Conexões entre mulheres surrealistas no Mexico" came to Rio de Janeiro. The exhibition hosted at Caixa Cultural has been a great success in Brazil, first showed in São Paulo and now moving on to Brasilia.

That Frida Kahlo had been at the center of an important movement in Mexico, both intelectual and artistic, I already knew, but I was not familiar with many of the other female painters featured at the exhibition. I also discovered that Frida Kahlo painted so much more than the self-portraits.

Even so it was of course the self-portraits that got most of the attention:

I was familiar with her obsession for Diego Rivera, her husband, but did not know of her interest in mother earth, the moon and the mysteries of life, an interest she shared with many of the other painters featured at the exhibition:

This painting " Minotauro" by Remedios Varo I especially liked.

The exhibition also had typical Mexican dresses on display, not Frida Kahlo's but one could easily see where she got the inspiration for her outfits.

I finish off with a beautiful picture of a Mexican girl, made by Frida Kahlo, that in a way sums it all up: Frida's interest in the indigenous Mexican culture, the dress and the ancient symbols.