Less than 4 weeks remain to see Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera: Love & Revolution at the Art Gallery of South Australia

Reading Time: 7 minutes

Exclusive to Adelaide and the Art Gallery of South Australia is the stunning, vivid Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera: Love & Revolution exhibition which is on until 17 September. While you may think there are no French links between Frida Kahlo and France or the Francophonie, there are several. For example, it was one of Frida’s self-portraits that was the first work by a 20th century artist to be added to the Louvre’s collection in Paris.

Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera: Love & Revolution
Frida Kahlo, born Mexico City 1907, died Mexico City 1954, Diego on my mind (Self-portrait as Tehuana), 1943, Coyoacan, Mexico, oil on board, 76 x 61 cm; The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation

Frida Kahlo’s first exhibition of paintings was arranged by French surrealist poet Andre Breton in New York in 1938. Kahlo exhibited in France in 1939, a long time before an exhibition of her works in her home country of Mexico, which didn’t occur until 1953, a year before her death aged 47.

 

The works that make up the Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera: Love & Revolution exhibition come from the impressive collection of Mexican modernism held by Jacques and Natasha Gelman. Jacques Gelman may be a name you’re familiar with as he was a still photographer in film studios in France before later moving to Mexico, initially as a distributor of French films. The Gelmans were not just collectors of art but were friends with the artists they bought from. When Frida was short of money and offered to sell her jewels, the Gelmans instead wanted to buy her art. Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera: Love & Revolution celebrates not only the love between Kahlo and Rivera but also the love of art patronage itself. As it is stated in the exhibition book, it is “a reminder of the importance of collectors and collecting to the history and tradition of great art and artists”.

installation view: Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution, featuring Ángel Zarraga’s Portrait of Jacques Gelman and Diego Rivera’s Portrait of Natasha Gelman, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; photo: Saul Steed
installation view: Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution, featuring Ángel Zarraga’s Portrait of Jacques Gelman and Diego Rivera’s Portrait of Natasha Gelman, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; photo: Saul Steed

 

While Frida Kahlo’s most well-known works are undoubtedly her self-portraits, the Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera: Love & Revolution exhibition also showcases portraits of the very people responsible for bringing the collection to the world – Jacques and Natasha Gelman – as painted by Frida Kaho and Diego Rivera.

 

As is the case for many artists, Frida Kahlo did not truly know success in her lifetime and it is in the most recent decades that she has become an icon. In their lifetimes, it was Diego Rivera who was the world-renowned artist, while Frida Kahlo was virtually unrecognised. That has since changed. A survey conducted across 199 countries in 2020 found that Frida Kahlo was the second most googled artist, was the most googled artist in 29 countries and was one of only two female artists in the top 100 google searches.

Frida Kahlo, born Mexico City 1907, died Mexico City 1954, Self-portrait with red and gold dress, 1941, Coyoacan, Mexico, oil on canvas, 39.0 x 27.5 cm; The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
Frida Kahlo, born Mexico City 1907, died Mexico City 1954, Self-portrait with red and gold dress, 1941, Coyoacan, Mexico, oil on canvas, 39.0 x 27.5 cm; The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation

The Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera: Love & Revolution exhibition marks the first time Frida’s works have been exhibited at the Art Gallery of South Australia since the 1990 exhibition entitled The art of Frida Kahlo. The exhibition is comprised of about 150 works from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman collection. 33 works from that same collection were exhibited in the Art Gallery of New South Wales 2016 exhibition Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera from the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection. It is therefore quite a feat for the Art Gallery of South Australia to be dispalying such a significant number of works in the current exhibition.

 

The entrance to the exhibition is via a wall painted highly saturated, attention-grabbing blue with the words “Frida y Diego viveron en esta casa 1929-1954”. It is a reproduction of an external wall of the house, in which they lived together for a period of time and in which Frida grew up and ultimately passed away. It is a grounding reminder that the exhibition celebrates the works of not just Frida but also Diego, and that the love referred to in its name, which while troubled, was shared by the couple. The bright colours continue throughout the exhibition. Special mention must also be made of Grieve Gillett Architects, who were responsible for the exhibition design. The set-up of the exhibition is a work of art itself, with very Instagram-able colourful walls and delightful angles to capture the works from.

installation view: Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; photo: Saul Steed
installation view: Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; photo: Saul Steed

As you may know from Kahlo’s works that have been reproduced on all sorts of merchandise now that “Fridamania” lives on, she often painted herself without embellishing her appearance. In Self-portrait with braid, 1941, Frida paints herself with a shaved head and her signature braid perched on top. She had cut off the braids that Rivera Diego so admired when he had an affair with her sister, Cristina.

 

Kahlo used her art to show the pain and trauma of one of her many miscarriages. As stated in the exhibition book, “Kahlo’s raw and unfiltered painting style reminds us of our flawed humanity; she is a woman who has experienced great pain and loss but she is not simply defined by it”. Kahlo did not allow her disabilities caused by polio and the bus accident to affect her identity or to stop her living her life the way she wanted to. While some speculate that she took on traditional Oaxaca clothing to hide her misshapen leg, after her death, photographs found in the bathroom of Casa Azul depict Kahlo’s maternal ancestors wearing the same traditional style of clothing. She attended her final exhibition on a stretcher.

installation view: Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; photo: Saul Steed
installation view: Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; photo: Saul Steed

Rivera Diego was first and foremost a muralist and the exhibition sees the recreation of one of his large murals depicting many important figures from Mexican life and culture. The then Minister of education, Jose Vasconcelos, commissioned Mexican artists to create murals across the city of Mexico. The intent was to use them as a way of teaching the people of Mexico, in particular those who hadn’t been able to access education, and who often were illiterate. Muralism is a key component of the Mexican art scene and Diego was one of the three main muralists given the commissions.  Unlike most public commissions though, the artists had freedom to paint whatever and however they wished to.

 

Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution from The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of Mexican Modernism is an unrivalled opportunity to uncover the artistic and cultural history of Mexico and encounter the remarkable collectors, Jacques and Natasha Gelman. It is a celebration of the artistic legacy of Frida and Diego and a reminder of the vibrant art community in Mexico. It is rare to have an exhibition of such a scale and importance in Australia, let alone South Australia and we highly recommend you attend before it closes in less than 4 weeks.

Diego Rivera, born Guanajuanto City, Mexico 1886, died Mexico City 1957, Sunflowers, 1943, Mexico City, oil on canvas, 90 x 130 cm; The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
Diego Rivera, born Guanajuanto City, Mexico 1886, died Mexico City 1957, Sunflowers, 1943, Mexico City, oil on canvas, 90 x 130 cm; The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation

KEY INFO FOR FRIDA & DIEGO: LOVE & REVOLUTION

WHAT: Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution from The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of Mexican Modernism

WHEN: 24 Jun – 17 Sep 2023

AGSA opening hours:

  • 10am to 5pm daily
  • 10am – 9pm on the first Friday of each month (1 September)

Admission to the exhibition closes 30 minutes before AGSA closes.

WHERE: Art Gallery of South Australia: Galleries 22, 23, 25

HOW: Purchase your tickets via this link (tickets are not dated or timed so allow one entry into the exhibition on any date it’s showing)

HOW MUCH: Ticket prices are as follows:

  • Adult $28.00
  • Concession $25.00
  • Member $20.00
  • Under 18 $12.00
  • Child (Age 0-4) FREE
  • Family (2 Adults + max 3 Children under 18) $66.00
  • Group of 8+ (purchase 1 ticket per person) $21.00
  • Seniors Card Wednesdays $25.00
  • AGSA Members Season Pass $55.00
  • Companion card FREE – this ticket can be obtained from the AGSA Ticket Desk
installation view: Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; photo: Saul Steed
installation view: Frida & Diego: Love & Revolution, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; photo: Saul Steed

For more events with links to France and the Francophonie happening in Australia this month, check out our What’s on in August article.

 

French guitarist Antoine Boyer will perform at Adelaide Guitar Festival

Reading Time: 7 minutes

Antoine Boyer is a French guitarist who grew up playing gypsy jazz. At the age of 20, he was named Révélation Guitare Classique by the French magazine Guitar Classique. He is coming to Australia for a single concert at the Adelaide Guitar Festival, performing with wife Yeore Kim on harmonica and him on guitar.

Antoine BoyerPhoto: Antje Kroeger
Photo: Antje Kroeger

 

Antoine Boyer, you’ve come to Australia for a single concert with Yeore Kim. Is she your wife too?

Yes, she’s my wife too.

 

And you’re coming together to Adelaide for the Adelaide Guitar Festival. And you only play this one concert in Australia? And then you leave again.

Yes.

 

It’s quite a distance to come for just one concert. So we’re lucky!

We’re staying for the duration of the festival. We’re staying for a week.

 

What can audiences expect from this concert?

It’s something very intimate, I’d say. Very intimate, sensitive. It’s music that’s pretty much down to basics. Then there’s also the fact that we’re married, so there’s a sensitivity that’s unique to the fact that we’re also a couple. So I’d say it’s something that goes beyond just two musicians. It’s a bit of a love story.

 

The music in the concert is a bit of everything, because you play gypsy jazz and a bit of classical, so it’s a concert with a bit of everything?

To sum up, yes, it’s very much based on jazz, with standards and also covers of songs and compositions. There are jazz and classical influences.

 

And I’d seen that you’ve done a project together called Tangram. What is that about?

Well, it’s the name of a Chinese jigsaw puzzle. This piece is a creative jigsaw puzzle with geometric shapes and it’s a pretty good representation of the way we worked on this project. So we called it Tangram and it was a project with a lot of other musicians.

 

But that’s not the tour you’re doing now.

No. What we’re doing now is really our duo.

Image: Henrik Meng
Antoine Boyer & Yeore Kim
Image: Henrik Meng

And you met through music?

Yes, through music, we met in Taiwan at the Jazz Festival.

 

That’s great. You started playing guitar with your father when you were six. How and why did you take up the guitar?

We listened to jazz at home, we listened to Django Reinhardt and he said to me, “Hey, do you want to start playing guitar?” When he said that, he was talking about Gypsy guitar because that’s what we listened to. And so, in fact, we started together with the same teacher. He started with me. We ended up playing and touring together.

 

You’ve even recorded a few albums together too, I think.

Yes, three albums.

 

Were you good at it straight away?

It’s difficult to say. What I can say is that I learned in the gypsy way. In other words, you learn as a community. In fact, it’s very different from classical music, where you’re faced with a score and you have to work alone.

 

This is the complete opposite. It’s something you learn in a community. There’s no score at all, it’s an oral tradition. And as a result, it’s a way of learning that makes everything go very quickly. In fact, everything is done by ear, by sight, and copying.

 

And I think it’s thanks to that that I was able to play very early on. I started doing concerts when I was 11 or 12 because it’s a way of doing things very quickly. But for the gypsies, it’s a completely natural way of learning. And [for them] it’s normal for little children of ten or eleven to already be playing to their heart’s content.

 

But you don’t come from a gypsy family?

No, not really, it’s just that we listened to that kind of music.

 

And apart from the fact that you started lessons with your father, before that, your father wasn’t musical either?

Yes, he played a lot of classical piano. He was a musician.

 

In fact, the reason we did Gypsy jazz and learnt the Gypsy way was that he’d already had the experience of classical piano where you’re all alone in front of a score and it’s not always very fun. And I don’t think he wanted me to learn to play music in that way.

Antoine Boyer & Yeore Kim by Kévin Seddiki - 2
Photo: Kévin Seddiki

 

What about your mother? And if you have brothers and sisters, do they play too?

Yes, my mother also played the piano, as did my brothers and sisters. They did music, painting… Well, we did quite a lot of art. Professionally, my parents were statisticians.

 

That’s a bit of a change from statistics; music is a bit more fun than statistics! We’re not going to tell them that, but all the same! I’ve read that you prefer three types of guitar: gypsy jazz, classical and archtop, for those who like me don’t know anything about guitars, what are the differences between them?

Well, the classical guitar, is the guitar you see most often. An acoustic guitar with nylon strings. So that’s basically what defines it. The gypsy guitar is also an acoustic guitar but with steel strings. So the sound is very different. More metallic.

 

And the archtop guitar. This is the guitar we generally use in jazz. So it’s an electric guitar. It has more of an acoustic sound. But there are so many different kinds of guitar.

 

I know you’re comfortable playing a bit of everything, but do you have a favourite style of music to play with the guitar?

Not really, no. I wouldn’t say a style. I like to play a bit of all music as long as you manage to be intense.

 

There’s one technique I’m particularly fond of and that’s counterpoint. I don’t know if you can tell, it’s the art of playing several voices at once, like the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

 

And you write your own music with Yeore Kim? What is the process of writing it? To create it?

Yes, it usually depends. For example, I’ll have an idea and I’ll say to her, “here, let’s try it out” and then we’ll see how it sounds and then it’ll happen naturally. So there’s not much of a predefined technique.

 

And where does your inspiration come from?

It’s hard to say, but I’d say one thing that inspires me a lot is the sound of the guitar.

 

And in 2016, you were named a classic guitar revelation. What is the process for this guitar revelation, is it a competition? How do you become one?

Yes, that was a competition.

 

And it was very intense, I imagine.

Yes, classical guitar competitions are very demanding. And that’s all you get to do.

 

Which audience is your concert at the Adelaide Guitar Festival aimed at?

I don’t really know the audience for the Adelaide Guitar Festival, but I think it’s for everyone. I don’t think there are any particular categories.

 

Maybe you just have to love music and especially the guitar. Do you have a dream venue you’d like to play at?

Not really, no. Generally speaking, I’m just happy to be where I am. As for the rest, we’ll see.

 

You’re used to playing festivals, so is it normally in the open air, outside or is it more indoors that you play?

It depends on the festival. It depends.

 

So you do a bit of both.

Yes.

 

And in Adelaide, it’s going to be indoors.

Yes. For the duet with Yeore, it’s much better to have an indoor venue because it’s more intimate. What we do isn’t necessarily best done outside.

 

Why should people come and see you live at the Adelaide Guitar Festival? Why choose your gig over another?

It’s hard to say. In fact, it’s not for me to say. I’m coming, I’m playing, I’m giving my best and that’s all I can say. If people are touched by this style of music, they’ll come and that’s that. After that, it’s up to them to have a really good, intimate time and to give it their all.

 

Why this concert rather than any other? What I wanted to say is that we’re trying to do – it’s not necessarily entertainment – but it’s really that we’re trying to give people a deeper experience than just “We’re here, we play and that’s that.” And that’s nice.

 

We’re trying to make the things we share a deeper experience than just having a nice time together, which is fine. But we’re trying to share a deeper experience that goes a bit beyond words.

 

How do you make it more of an intimate experience?

It’s the way you’re on stage, the way you play and the way you’re intense and in the moment. I think that’s what really makes it possible to create an atmosphere that goes beyond entertainment. It’s hard to put into words, but that’s what I want to say.

 

So you just have to come and experience it and know what it’s all about.

That’s exactly what I mean. It’s precisely because it goes beyond words that it’s interesting.

 

Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?

For me, music is really the art of creating an intense moment for several people, the musicians and the listeners. In fact, playing music for an audience is something very special and almost sacred for me. I think that’s all I can say to people to get them to come. And for me, I try to make them unique moments.

We’d like to thank Antoine Boyer for this interview and we look forward to seeing him in concert.

.

©Henrik Meng Antoine Boyer
Photo: Henrik Meng

KEY INFO FOR ANTOINE BOYER & YEORE KIM IN CONCERT

WHAT: Guitar and harmonica concert by Antoine Boyer and Yeore Kim at the Adelaide Guitar Festival 2023, with a performance by Kathleen Halloran, singer and guitarist.

WHEN: 5pm, Sunday 16 July

WHERE : Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre, ADELAIDE

HOW : Buy your tickets via this link

HOW MUCH: Tickets cost $59 excluding booking fees

For other events with links to France and the French-speaking world, check out our What’s on in July article.

 

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