Frida Kahlo: Timeless Exhibit Features Artists’ Original Work

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Frida Kahlo: Timeless

The largest presentation of Frida Kahlo’s work displayed in the Chicago area in over 40 years will be right here in the suburbs in June.

The Cleve Carney Museum of Art and the McAninch Arts Center at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn have created Frida Kahlo: Timeless.

“The timeless title really solidifies that,” said Diana Martinez who is the exhibition’s executive director. “That her art is timeless, her messages are timeless, her work is timeless, and her inspiration is certainly timeless.”

Original Artwork

The exhibit features a multimedia timeline of the artist’s life, recreations of her outfits, and most notably – 26 original Kahlo pieces on loan from the Dolores Olmedo Museum in Mexico.

“We are really fortunate to show this collection because it shows such a full arc of her career, said Justine Witte, exhibition curator. “From early pieces, pieces painted just a year after she started painting, to works made in the last year of her life. Not only that, they are some of the most pivotal works that she made during her career.”

Much of her artwork was a result of multiple personal and physical struggles.

“After having her spine broken, her leg broken. She endured 30 surgeries. She had her leg amputated. And she continued to persevere,” said Martinez.

“All of her paintings are so incredibly detailed and full of such specific symbolism that when the viewers actually come and take the time to view her work, they’ll have an opportunity to see or hear Frida tell her own story,” said Witte.

The museum in Mexico also provided over 100 photos of Kahlo. A Frida Kahlo inspired garden, a model of her family home – The Blue House, and a children’s area are also part of the exhibit.

Open in June

After being postponed last summer due the pandemic, Friday Kahlo: Timeless will be open to the public on June 5 through September 6.

Timed and untimed entry tickets are available at frida2021.org.

Naperville News 17’s Aysha Ashley Househ reports.