Frida Kahlo at Bozar Brussels

Frida Kahlo "The Broken Column"

The Bozar art gallery in Brussels is currently featuring art and artists from Mexico. Until the 18^th of April you can see the star attraction – 26 works by Frida Kahlo.

Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo Calderón was a Mexican painter who suffered from polio as a small child. She was left with one leg smaller than the other and a strong interest in medicine. She began medical school at age 15 but her dreams were dashed when the bus she was riding was struck by a tram. Her injuries were so numerous she nearly died. As it was, she was bed ridden for months.

To keep boredom at bay, she began to paint self-portraits with a small easel and mirror attached to the canopy of her bed. These self-portraits began a career-long exploration of her own image on canvas. Self-portraits make up more than a third of her work.

Even when she was able to leave her bed, Frida’s life remained turbulent. She joined the Mexican Communist Party where she met and married artist Diego Rivera, who was notoriously unfaithful. She was unable to have children and miscarried many times; another theme that is explored in her paintings. Frida herself had many affairs with both men and women.

She ended her life again confined to her bed after her right leg was amputated. She was given her first solo exhibition in 1953 and thought she would be unable to attend. She arrived by ambulance and had her canopy bed sent to the gallery where she and her art was a triumphant success. She died the following year.

Frida Kahlo

When I heard there was going to be a Frida Kahlo exhibit at Bozar I was eager to see it. On Saturday, Andrew and I visited it with a couple of friends.  We booked our tickets in advance on-line and had a timed entry of 4pm.

I was left with very mixed feelings of the show.

Frida’s work was wonderful. Her self-portraits are filled with incredible strength. She shows a brutal reality without wallowing in self-pity. I am really glad I got to see this small portion of her work in person.

On the other hand I was very disappointed in how the exhibition was laid out. It was in one small room and there was little space to admire the works. The timed ticket system limited the number of people admitted at one time which was good – however the entire group enters together at the start of the hour and is then asked to leave at the end. This results in a swarm of people moving through the exhibition together.

The other negative was how the information was handled. There are nicely printed booklets available in French, Dutch and English because there are no written descriptions beside the works. This would be fine except the lighting is very low to protect the paintings. The result is a group of people squinting at their booklets and trying to hold them under the lights shining on the paintings.

My advice would be to visit through the week, in the morning if possible. If you do have to go on a weekend like I did, wait patiently at the beginning for 10-15 minutes for people to move through the room.

Despite the failings in setup the exhibition is well worth seeing if you are a Frida fan. Take the time to wander through the many other free exhibitions that are part of the Mexico festival.