A new exhibition in San Diego features Frida Khalo's complete works, none of which she actually painted. On view at the Naval Training Center at Liberty Station in Point Loma, the show displays copies of the Mexican artist's work by four uncredited Chinese painters. And the audience is in the dark.
While the website for “The Complete Frida Kahlo: Her Paintings, Her Life, Her Story,” states that the works are "replicas" of Kahlo's work, KPBS asserts that the advertisements, banners, and catalogue for the exhibit do not make it clear that the artist's work is not actually on view. When asked, visitors to the exhibition did not know that the paintings were fakes.
This show is the project of Dr. Mariella Remund and her partner Hans-Jürgen Gehrke, who were granted permission to reproduce the paintings from the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums Trust. The couple put on this show because they're "crazy" about Mexican art and culture. "And there was a point five years ago when we decided we were ready to share our passion with anyone who is interested,” they told KPBS. But this isn't Mexican culture they're sharing. It's a copy.
Hugh Davies, director and CEO of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD), spoke out against the exhibition. “To have a show entirely of copies and to promote it as all Frida Kahlo’s paintings together for the first time is completely dishonest,” he said.
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[via KPBS]