An intimate portrayal of one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, Bendigo Art Gallery presents from March 2025, Frida Kahlo: In her own image, a major new exhibition never before seen in Australia and direct from Mexico’s Museo Frida Kahlo.
Frida Kahlo: In her own image features the iconic artist’s personal belongings, fashion collection, make up, accessories, even medical items which were sealed for fifty years in a bathroom in Kahlo’s cherished family home, illuminating the personal, political, philosophical and artistic influences which shaped Kahlo’s revolutionary creative style and her distinctive worldview.
The exhibition considers the intricate connections between Kahlo’s clothing and styling, her home, her ground-breaking painting and drawing, and the iconic photographic images which immortalised her in the global collective imagination.
Jessica Bridgfoot, Director of Bendigo Art Gallery, said it was an honour to have the opportunity to work with the Museo Frida Kahlo to tell the story of one of the world’s most mythologised artists.
“This remarkable collection rarely travels outside Mexico, and has never before been seen in Australia. Kahlo’s much-loved home, Casa Azul, now the Museo Frida Kahlo, was the embodiment of her art, philosophies, and design influences,” said Bridgfoot.
“The exhibition is part of the Gallery’s Bendigo International Collections exhibitions, which are Focused on exploring the inspiration and legacies of the great style icons of our time, such as Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Cristóbal Balenciaga and Grace Kelly, figures who have singularly shaped modern visual culture.”
“Frida Kahlo: In her own image will shed a light on Kahlo’s carefully crafted appearance in the world, and how her vibrant clothing, poetic use of make-up and adornment constructed her captivating public image, and also addressed global political issues, cultural identity and how her physical disabilities both defied and defined her,” said Bridgfoot.
“Frida Kahlo: In her own image originates from the extensive investigation of Frida Kahlo’s personal objects, found in trunks, wardrobes, drawers, bathrooms and cellars of the Casa Azul,” said Perla Labarthe Alvarez, Director Frida Kahlo Museum.
“The exhibition is a unique opportunity to learn about the Kahlo’s life in a classical Mexican house which encompassed not only her personal world but so much of Mexican life and culture. These endearing objects help us understand the story of this complex artist with all her humanity, resilience and creative power,” said Alvarez.
Highlights of Frida Kahlo: In her own image include:
- Traditional regional Mexican garments worn by Kahlo, including a spectacular resplandor, a pleated white headdress which frames the face, worn by Tehuana women of Oaxaca region.
- A collection of Kahlo’s favourite Revlon cosmetics, including eyebrow pencil, blush, nail polishes, and lipstick, used by the artist to dramatise and accentuate her features.
- Medical corsets worn after spinal surgeries following a devastating traffic accident, which have been delicately hand-painted and embellished by Kahlo, including one painted with a broken Tuscan column representing her spine.
- A self-portrait drawing titled Appearances Can be Deceiving, depicting an x-ray view through Kahlo’s clothing to her corset and injured body underneath.
Frida Kahlo: in her own image was conceptualised and curated by Circe Henestrosa, fashion curator and Head of the School of Fashion at LASALLE College of the Arts Singapore, with advising curator Gannit Ankori, PhD, and Henry and Lois Foster, Director and Chief Curator, Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University. Lauren Ellis, Curatorial Manager at Bendigo Art Gallery, is the managing curator for the exhibition in Australia.
Lauren Ellis said Frida’s husband Diego Rivera made arrangements for her home to be preserved as a museum following her death in 1954, as a gift to the people of Mexico.
“At that time, many of her most personal items and sensitive documents were sealed up in the bathrooms, with instructions that they remained concealed for ten years. As it happened, it was 50 years before they were uncovered in 2004,” said Ellis.
“The discovery of this extraordinary treasure trove of clothing, make up and accessories, medical items, thousands of photographs and cherished personal mementoes, illuminated the full extent of Kahlo’s careful construction of her appearance.”
“Combining traditional regional Mexican garments with eclectic modern elements, layered with potent historical and cultural references, Kahlo constructed and performed her identity to embody her bold artistic vision and her deeply held cultural and political beliefs,” said Ellis.
Frida Kahlo: In her own image will be presented at the Bendigo Art Gallery from 15 March – 13 July 2025. For more information, visit: www.bendigoartgallery.com.au for details.
Image: Frida Kahlo in blue satin blouse, 1939, photograph by Nickolas Muray © Nickolas Muray Photo Archives | La Casa Azul, photograph by Sebastián Monsalve. © Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera Archives. Bank of Mexico, Fiduciary in the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museum Trust