Phoenix museum to host only US stop of Frida Kahlo-Diego Rivera art exhibit

PHOENIX — Starting Tuesday, the Heard Museum in Phoenix is offering visitors a rare opportunity to see some of the most famous paintings by Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

The exhibit at the museum on Central Avenue near McDowell Road features 33 artworks by the iconic couple. One of them is Kahlo’s self-portrait called “Diego on My Mind,” which she completed in 1943, after her remarriage to Rivera.

Rivera’s famous painting called “Calla Lily Vendor” is also part of the exhibit.

“You can look at pictures of the works, but to see them and get up close – we have very few barriers so people can look at the paintings up close and see a lot of detail – it’s just really stunning,” Heard curator Janet Cantley said.

The exhibit runs through Aug. 20 in the museum’s recently opened Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust Grand Gallery.

The artworks featured in the exhibit are part of a world tour that began in October in Australia. Phoenix is the tour’s only stop in North America.

David Roche, museum director and CEO, said in a statement that the exhibit “will provide our visitors a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience firsthand some of the most famous and iconic paintings ever created.”

Beautiful artwork on display throughout our Courtyard by Patsy Skyline Lowry 🌺🌸🌹#FridaDiegoPHX pic.twitter.com/9DWYyBt4iw

— Heard Museum (@HeardMuseum) April 10, 2017

In addition to the artworks by Kahlo and Rivera, the exhibit features more than 70 photos that offer a close look into the artists’ lives and tumultuous relationship.

Perhaps the most colorful part of the exhibit is a display of the type of clothing and jewelry that Kahlo wore.

“They’re from the region of Mexico where her mother was from, southern Mexico, in Oaxaca,” Cantley said.

“It shows the kind of very ornately stitched dresses, with lace underskirts and the fancy jewelry that she wore.”

Tickets to the exhibit cost $7, plus the general museum admission fee.

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