Once best known for being Mexican artist Diego Rivera’s wife, Frida Kahlo has become a superstar in the past few decades. Her image can be found everywhere. She’s on socks, purses, jewelry, and even in film. Similar to names such as Madonna, Picasso, and Beyoncé, many recognize the world-renowned artist from just her first name: Frida.
Tate Modern’s exhibition, Frida: The Making of an Icon, explores Frida’s rise to fame alongside her contemporaries (including Rivera). The exhibition studies her enduring influence on successive artists and includes an array of Frida’s paintings. I had the chance to check out the exhibition for myself. I was surprised to find that many of the paintings and earlier works on display I had never seen before. The exhibit also contained some of her clothing, jewelry, and photography.
Frida’s earlier works showcased her still figuring out her art style.
Frida’s earlier works showcased her still figuring out her art style. Some pieces, like “Portrait of Miguel N. Lira” (1927) and “Untitled (known as Pancho Villa y Adelita)” (1927), feel like she’s exploring Cubism and other modernist art movements. In addition, the exhibit included a series of oil paintings on metal. They reference the Mexican Indigenous traditions of crafting religious icons on tin. Example of this include “The Frame” (1938) and “Self-Portrait (Dedicated to Jacqueline Lambal)” (1938).
While I’ve seen some of Frida’s clothing before at previous exhibits, it’s breathtaking to see her dresses and corsets. At this exhibition, they had her plaster corset, “Hammer and Sickle (and Unborn Baby)” (c. 1950), which feels like a declaration to her politics and her desire for children. Frida had several miscarriages and several abortions since pregnancy threatened her life. It’s a gut punch to see symbols of these topics painted on the corset that she had to wear in order to minimize pain as she went through the world.
I appreciated the exhibit’s focus on highlighting other female artists who were contemporaries of Frida Kahlo, such as Rosa Rolanda (1895–1970), Alison Rahon (1903–1987), and Jacqueline Lamba (1910–1993), whom she met in Mexico. Like Frida, Rosa Rolanda painted many self-portraits, reflecting on gender roles and her own identity. Alison Rahon and Jacqueline Lamba have much more abstract styles compared to Frida’s more surrealist-esque images (although she was not a surrealist).
All of them, like Frida, have lived in the shadows of their more famous partners. All of them are just as worthy of popularity as Frida. It’s striking how many artists ended up in Mexico during this period, including a personal favorite: Remedios Varo. She, like Frida, was outshined by her partner/husband Leonora Carrington, until recently. I can only hope that this exhibition will spur interest in these contemporaries in future scholarship and exhibitions.
The second half of the exhibition explores Frida’s influence on later artists. One room is dedicated to the 1978 show Homenaje a Frida Kahlo at Galería de la Raza in San Francisco, including Rupert García’s screen print “Frida Kahlo (September)” (1975), which is allegedly “the first time that a recreated image of Kahlo appeared in the US,” per the wall tag. The next few galleries include more artists inspired by Frida’s work.
One very exciting work was Marcos Raya’s “Frida the Last Portrait” (1985). It’s a large painting of Frida with a monkey on one shoulder and a skeleton on the other with vignettes from history behind her. It feels almost electric, borrowing from Futurism and Cubism. As a native Chicagoan, it’s also really exciting to see this work from a Mexican-born, Chicago-based artist hanging in the Tate Modern in London. The wall tag noted that the piece was made for “a one-person play about Kahlo’s life, first staged at the Blue Ryder Theater in Chicago in 1985.” With the recent popularity of the opera “El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego,” I wonder if we may see more productions about the life of Kahlo.
I appreciated that the exhibition tied the work of Cuban artist Ana Mendieta (1948–1985) with Frida’s own. Mendieta is best known for her photographs and films focusing on her body. She imprints her body onto the landscape with red powder, stones, and other earthworks. It makes sense that she was influenced by Frida Kahlo, with so much of Frida’s work focusing on her body. Incidentally, the Tate just opened an exhibition on Mendieta a few weeks after the Frida show opened.
In addition to photography and paintings, there were two costumes worn by Astrid Hadad, a Mexican singer and performer known for her political commentary in her songs.
In addition to photography and paintings, there were two costumes worn by Astrid Hadad, a Mexican singer and performer known for her political commentary in her songs. She used elements of Frida’s works in her costumes, including images of hearts and a wounded deer with Frida’s face. Another critical part of the show focuses on Frida’s experiments with androgyny, a theme evident throughout her life. I had not known that she painted a self-portrait, “Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair” (1940), of herself in Diego’s suit and shorter hair. I found this fascinating.
English photographer Mary McCartney’s “Being Frida, London” (2000) depicts Tracey Emin, dressed as Frida, lying in bed. Tracey also has a exhibit at the Tate Modern right now. I suggest checking it out as well. Both artists have employed beds in their works, Frida’s self-portraits and photos of herself working in bed (also on view in the show), and Emin’s famous installation “My Bed” (1999) of her unmade bed.
The final room displays a cornucopia of objects with Frida’s face on them, from dolls, mugs, T-shirts, and traditional crafts. I wish the exhibition went further into the commodification of Frida and how she might have felt about it as a Marxist, but the final room was fascinating as it touched on the topic. If you are in London before January 3rd, Frida: The Making of an Icon at the Tate Modern is well worth a visit. It’s a popular show, so make sure to get tickets in advance.
© Elisa Shoenberger (09/12/26)—Special for FF2 Media®
LEARN MORE/DO MORE
Check out the exhibition Frida: The Making of an Icon
Learn more about Frida Kahlo’s artistic influence
Experience Ana Mendieta at Tate Modern
Browse Frida Kahlo’s work
CREDITS & PERMISSIONS
Featured Photo: Self-Portrait by Rosa Rolanda
Middle Photo: The Fawn by Astrid Haddad
Bottom Photo: Being Frida by Mary McCartney
Exit Photo: Self-Portrait by Rosa Rolanda
All four photos were taken by Elisa Shoenberger on her visit to Frida: The Making of an Icon exhibition at Tate Modern. Authorized for responsible use by FF2 Media LLC as long as users include a link to this post in their credits.
