PORTLAND, ORE.- The Portland Art Museum is presenting Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Mexican Modernism from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. A fascinating exploration of Mexican modernism and two of its most beloved icons, the exhibition opened February 19, 2022, and will be on view through June 5.

Featuring more than 150 works, this traveling exhibition celebrates internationally acclaimed artists Frida Kahlo (1907–1954), Diego Rivera (1886–1957), and their contemporaries, including Manuel and Lola Álvarez Bravo, María Izquierdo, Carlos Mérida, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Rufino Tamayo, and others. In addition to paintings and works on paper, the exhibition includes photographs and period clothing that reflect works by Kahlo and Rivera in the broader context of Mexican Modernism.

Organized by themes such as “Land, Home, and Family,” “Shifting Views,” and “Creating Frida,'' the exhibition explores the ways in which art was an important tool for visualizing a shared national identity after the Mexican Revolution. That identity became known as mexicanidad—a blending of agrarian and Indigenous traditions with anti-colonialist sentiment. Rivera, Kahlo, and the other Mexican modernists experimented with style and imagery drawn from Indigenous and mestizo cultures while also taking part in the international movement of modernism.

Diego Rivera, along with Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco, promoted an outward vision of mexicanidad through murals, paintings, and prints, and were commissioned to create murals throughout Mexico City, where they addressed both heroic and tragic histories in monumental works intended to instill optimism and pride. The exhibition presents 17 works by Rivera, including major paintings like Calla Lily Vendor as well as prints that depict some of his mural imagery.




While Rivera and the muralists captured the spirit of the people on a vast scale, Kahlo turned inward and represented mexicanidad through an exploration of her personal identity. The exhibition includes several of her famous self-portraits, intimately scaled drawings that reveal her political positions, as well as photographs that show the evolution of her style and self-presentation as a fiercely independent woman. There are 24 works by Kahlo, including some of her best-known works including Diego on My Mind (Self-Portrait as Tehuana) and Self-Portrait with Monkeys, both painted in 1943.

Mexico’s post-war modernism movement also will be demonstrated through artworks by Kahlo and Rivera’s contemporaries such as the photographers Manuel and Lola Álvarez Bravo, who blended modernist aesthetics of abstraction, geometry, asymmetry, strong contrasts, and sharp focus, with a strong focus on unique aspects of life in urban and rural Mexico. Painters like Rufino Tamayo and Maria Izquierdo reflected on the vibrancy of everyday life in Mexican cities and towns, where festivals, ceremonies, and markets drew people out into public spaces, connecting back to the notions of mexicanidad, the uniqueness of Mexican culture and identity.

“This exhibition is really special for us and for the Portland community,” said Sara Krajewski, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. “Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera are beloved artists, and we are thrilled to be presenting some of their most recognizable works. They were at the center of a vibrant artistic community as well, and I am looking forward to sharing the broader moment of Mexican modernism through works by Kahlo and Rivera’s peers who may be less familiar to visitors.”

The majority of the works on view are from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. Jacques Gelman was a key player in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema (from the 1930s through the mid-1950s), and his success brought the Gelmans into an influential circle of artists. They were friends with Kahlo and Rivera, who each completed commissioned paintings for the family.

Special sections of the exhibition are devoted to Kahlo’s biography. Visitors will learn about her life at her home, La Casa Azul, see examples of traditional clothing akin to her wardrobe, and observe the way she boldly depicted herself and the disabilities and chronic illness that became a powerful element in her art. Today we admire Kahlo as a revolutionary artist and a feminist, and her strength grew through adversity, including the lingering effects of childhood polio. In 1925, she experienced a traumatic bus accident that resulted in multiple injuries, shattering her pelvis and spine and leading to amputation of her leg. During her long convalescence, art became a path for survival and self-expression.

Mexican artists like Kahlo and Rivera originated a form of modernism unique to their country and its history. Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Mexican Modernism celebrates this contribution to art history and mexicanidad.