BY KATHY WILLIAMS, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
St. Bonaventure University’s Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts highlighted the life of renowned artist Frida Kahlo by hosting the exhibition “Frida Kahlo’s Garden” and presenting the movie “Frida” on Apr. 27 for free for the general public and students.
Frida Kahlo was born in Coyoacan, Mexico City, Mexico and grew up to become one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. She reflected her life experiences through her artwork as she went through many highs and lows. In her early life, she had to learn how to navigate living life with polio, and she suffered a bus accident that left her with many injuries. However, in this darkness came the light because she began to paint while recovering from the tragic accident.
In later years, Kahlo met fellow artist Diego Rivera who she married twice. Their infamous relationship is known for its rocky and emotional love story filled with affairs from both people. Some of Kahlo’s popular pieces such as the 1937 painting “Memory, the Heart” depicts the emotional pain Kahlo felt during these times.
Kahlo is most known for her self portraits. The creations of Kahlo’s are about over 200 pieces varying from paintings, sketches and drawings, and 55 of the 143 paintings are self portraits. Her style has included vibrant colors and inspiration from folk and Mexican work. Kahlo was also highly political and reflected this in her art. She had more Marxist leaning views, an opinion that bonded Kahlo and Rivera together, and used symbolism and art to spread these ideologies.
The exhibition “Frida Kahlo’s Garden” allowed viewers to learn about such topics mentioned and to gaze at some of Kahlo’s works. However, the house of Kahlo known as Casa Azul (Blue House) was the feature the exhibit centered on. The residence was a reflection of the artistry between Kahlo and Rivera and had architectural designs and decisions to embody the visions of Kahlo. These include the vibrant indigo walls and her notable gardens. The gardens hold great significance in particular due to the botanical imagery consistent in Kahlo’s works. She used the real-life gardens surrounding her to replicate flowering images on her paintings.
The National Endowment for the Humanities on the Road made the exhibition possible to be brought to St. Bonaventure University and was reimagined from the exhibition “Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life” organized by guest curator Adriana Zavala at The New York Botanical Garden.
The exhibition at Regina A. Quick Center of the Arts was located on the second floor of the building and showcased informative displays of Kahlo’s life, the culture of Mexico and the impact of her work. Interactive displays gave viewers an engaging experience whether through flipping up various flowers to learn how Kahlo used the symbolism of the plant in her paintings or through sitting on a bench decorated with cacti to view some photographs of the time of Kahlo or her art.
