Exhibits Around the World Honor Influential Muralist Diego Rivera

In June we wrote about the opening of a new museum exhibition in Mexico City honoring the centenary of the birth of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Now it's her husband's turn. Museums and arts groups around the world are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the death of Diego Rivera, one of the most influential mural painters of the 20th century.

At least six exhibits focused on Rivera are scheduled to open in Mexico alone. The first, in the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, opens September 28. A second will open in Guanajuato, the artist's birthplace, on October 3 as part of the celebrated annual International Cervantes Festival. Others will run in Mexico City between October and December.

Additional exhibits are expected throughout Latin America, while in Lyon, France, a plaza will be named in Rivera's honor and reproductions of his murals installed in December.

Guadalupe Rivera, the artist's daughter, has indicated in interviews that the exhibits in Mexico are well planned, as each will cover a different aspect of her father's professional life. Rivera studied art in Europe, but ultimately returned to his Mexican roots, developing a style that celebrated Mexico's indigenous culture.

Rivera and Kahlo, his second wife, are remembered today as much for their political activism as they are for their artistic output. They were leading intellectuals in Mexico in the 1930s and 1940s, hosting gatherings attended by writers, artists, and politicians.

Rivera founded the Mexican Communist party, and both he and Kahlo were active in supporting their political causes. Rivera, reflecting his political leanings, often celebrated the worker in his murals. (A major mural he painted for Rockefeller Center in New York City was destroyed for containing a portrait of Lenin. Ironically, Rivera later was expelled from the Communist Party for persuading the Mexican government to grant asylum to Leon Trotsky, Stalin's unsuccessful rival for power.)

Though an extremely influential artist in his day and considered one of the founders of Mexican modern art, Rivera today is somewhat overshadowed by his wife. Kahlo's work seems to strike more of a chord among modern viewers. This may be due in part to the medium-Rivera painted large public murals, as opposed to Kahlo's intimate paintings-as well as to the subject matter-Rivera's art often is politically based, as opposed to Kahlo's more emotional, universal themes.

The new Rivera exhibits, coming on the heels of the wildly successful Kahlo exhibit (which broke attendance records) make 2007 a banner year for Mexican art.

Best Regards,

Suzan Haskins
Editor, Mexico Insider
International Living

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