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Qatar Tribune
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Qatar Tribune
Last chance to view LATINOAMERICANO exhibition at NMoQ
Tribune News Network Doha Qatar Museums has invited the public to explore LATINOAMERICANO. Modern and Contemporary Art from Malba and Eduardo Costantini Collections, the landmark exhibition on view at the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) ahead of its closure on July 19, 2025. Presented in collaboration with the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (Malba), the exhibition marks the first large-scale presentation of Latin American modern and contemporary art in the WANA region. Organised as part of the Qatar Argentina and Chile 2025 Year of Culture, LATINOAMERICANO features more than 170 works by over 100 artists from across Latin America, including seminal pieces by Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Wifredo Lam, Fernando Botero, and many more. The exhibition offers a wide-ranging view of the continent's artistic evolution across painting, sculpture, photography, video, installation, and archival material. The exhibition is curated by Issa Al Shirawi, head of International Exhibitions at Qatar Museums, and María Amalia García, Curator in Chief at Malba, the exhibition is structured around six thematic sections that explore identity, urbanisation, socio-political change, and the development of modern and contemporary artistic practices in the region. In the courtyard of NMoQ, Marta Minujín's Sculpture of Dreams (2023), a whimsical, inflatable structure first seen in New York's Times Square, offers visitors a sensory expression of the playfulness and imagination found throughout Latin American art. A comprehensive series of public programmes accompanies the exhibition, including talks, tours, and workshops designed to deepen visitor engagement with the artworks and the histories they represent. These programmes continue through the final weeks of the exhibition, till July 13, 2025, offering audiences of all ages meaningful opportunities for cultural exchange and learning. Entry is free with the museum's general admission. NMoQ will be closed on Tuesdays. Tickets can be reserved in advance via the Qatar Museums website.
Times
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
The scandal of the missing Frida Kahlo masterpieces
As a mariachi band played and a crowd of models clutched their cocktails around the swimming pool of a Miami mansion, a Bitcoin investor called Martin Mobarak took a Frida Kahlo from its frame, pinned it to the top of a cocktail glass and set fire to it, smiling broadly as the $10 million drawing was reduced to embers. 'I had to do something drastic to get attention,' Mobarak would later say of the stunt to create 10,000 digital artworks known as NFTs (non-fungible tokens) from the destruction of a real one. Mexican officials protested, but Kahlo would have approved, Mobarak insisted in 2022. 'I would bet my life that if I asked to burn a small piece of her diary to bring some smiles and better quality of life to children, then she would say: 'Go ahead and do it. I'll light the fire.'' Perhaps, but Mobarak's stunt represented more than just the burning of a piece of irreplaceable art for fun. It also shed light on how many of Kahlo's most personal works, which were supposed to be safeguarded in her home in Mexico City, had been allowed to emerge onto the art market. Her diary, written during the last ten years of her turbulent life, contains poems and drawings reflecting on her relationship with her husband, Diego Rivera, a celebrated artist in his own right. In the three years between his wife's death and his own demise, Rivera obsessively catalogued the contents of La Casa Azul, the cobalt blue house on a shady street corner of Mexico City that he shared with Kahlo. For admirers of one of the world's most popular, and saleable, artists, La Casa Azul is a place of pilgrimage. It is where Kahlo was born, where she grew up, where she lived with Rivera, and where she died in a room on the upper floor in 1954. Before his death, Rivera demanded that its contents, along with the entire estate, should be donated to the people of Mexico and protected by a trust which, today, is administered by the country's national bank, Banco de México. Then, one day in 2009, Hilda Trujillo opened the safe where Kahlo's diary was held. The woman who directed both the Frida Kahlo Museum and the Diego Rivera Anahuacalli Museum between 2002 and 2020, believes that the page burnt in Miami is just one of a number which have mysteriously left the collection in recent years. In an interview with The Times she said that at least two oil paintings, eight drawings, several copies of two lithographs and 12 double-sided pages from the diary, dated to March 1953, were missing from the collection at La Casa Azul. This, she said, was discovered after she obtained three pages of a 220-page inventory compiled in 2011. She believes the remainder of the document could reveal more artworks to be missing. Trujillo accuses the trust of losing track of artworks and archival materials, including some that have surfaced in private collections and international auctions. In April she went public with a detailed account of what she describes as serious irregularities. She alleged that dozens of works once held by the museums in Mexico City have gone missing or were quietly sold without proper documentation or export permits, in possible violation of heritage laws. 'We are very proud of our culture, it is very rich and very deep,' Trufillo said. 'We as a society have fought many battles [to protect it] all our lives. Imagine the sadness for the Mexican people if we lose our patrimony.' Helga Prignitz-Poda, an art historian and the author of several books on Kahlo, told the Mexican newspaper El Universal: 'These pages are undoubtedly a great loss. The fact that Casa Azul itself has not taken better care of its own collection is a scandal.' Trujillo claims she presented Banco de México with her findings almost two-and-a-half years ago, yet said the institution dismissed the matter. She says that it could be a matter of embarrassment for the bank and Mexico's National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (Inbal). 'Their strategy is silence, their outcome is erasure,' Trujillo said, adding that the institutions are run by 'businessmen with no sensibility and civil servants who knew nothing about art'. Neither the bank nor Inbal responded to requests for comment. Among the best known works Trujillo claims are missing is the 1954 work that was known as Frida in a Landscape or Frida on Fire. It has subsequently been identified by experts as being a work listed with Mary-Anne Martin Fine Art, a gallery in Manhattan that describes itself as a 'must' for collectors of Latin American Art. Its experts have worked on landmark shows featuring Kahlo and Rivera, including roles as special advisers to exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Tate Modern in London. A work called Frida in Flames (Self-portrait inside a Sunflower) was listed with the gallery in December 2021 and had a provenance only described as 'Private Collection, Dallas'. For experts, the painting is deeply significant given that, shortly before her death, Kahlo took a knife to it, scraping away layers of paint in 'frustration' as her body failed her. Other missing paintings include 1952's Congress of People for Peace which sold for $2.66 million at Sotheby's in 2020, and the drawing American Liberty, or Sketch for an Ironic Monument to Yankee Freedom, which was listed with Mary-Anne Martin. The gallery did not respond when approached for comment. The trust, meanwhile, accuses Trujillo of holding a grudge. In a statement it said that she 'never filed a formal complaint' and added: 'On the contrary, their contract was terminated after irregularities were detected in their administration and for having benefited third parties with the assets under their care.' She denies this, claiming she repeatedly raised concerns internally, and hopes Interpol will be brought in to investigate. Inbal, meanwhile, said it had not granted any 'permits for permanent exports of these authors' works'. The works of both artists are considered national cultural heritage and are not allowed to leave the country permanently without express permission. Any suggestion that officials have allowed Kahlo's works to leave Mexico could provoke a scandal. 'With each passing minute, mistrust and uncertainty only increase,' wrote the Mexican newspaper Excélsior in an editorial, calling on President Sheinbaum to intervene if necessary. 'How is it possible that two such powerful institutions attack me instead of taking up the investigation and finding the works?' Trujillo asked. 'They want to disqualify me instead of doing their job, that's indignant.'
San Francisco Chronicle
05-06-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Deserted S.F. art campus has a new name, and vision for its future
A beloved city landmark that served as one of San Francisco's oldest art schools for nearly a century has a new name. Once the San Francisco Art Institute's former campus at 800 Chestnut St. in the cinematic Russian Hill neighborhood reopens its doors, it will do so as the California Academy of Studio Arts, or 'CASA' for short. The name comes from the BMA-Institute, a new nonprofit led by a board composed of prominent local arts leaders and backed by philanthropist and entrepreneur Laurene Powell Jobs, who gave the aging the 93,000-square-foot, two-building campus a new lease on life as an 'innovative studio program and arts center' after purchasing it for $23 million last February. The deal came after the art school abruptly closed its doors in 2022 due to bankruptcy, leaving its aging campus and its crown jewel — a preserved $50 million Diego Rivera mural that hangs within its walls — without a stewart, and facing an uncertain future. The property's new name is reflective of its future studio-based programming, details of which emerged this week: a total of 30 emerging visual artists will be able to take part in year-long, unaccredited programs for free. They'll receive access to a 'range of resources to nurture their practice, including studio space, shared workshops, mentorship from practicing artists, and platforms for public engagement,' BMA-Institute said in a statement Thursday, adding that the program encourages 'creative exploration and collaboration across disciplines.' The group said that CASA's programming is inspired by the 'experimental spirit' of Black Mountain College, a progressive, private liberal arts college in North Carolina that attracted pioneers in art, music, architecture, poetry and more, but closed down in 1957. 'The Bay Area has long been a magnet for remarkable creativity and innovation,' said Powell Jobs, CASA's founder and board president, in the press statement. 'CASA builds on the legacy and the bold spirit of Black Mountain College, supporting artists through connection, experimentation, and care. We are creating a dynamic experimental program that will be informed by the artists themselves.' Since purchasing the campus last year, her team has been in a 'deep period of research' of past and present arts education models across the country and globally, and launched 'listening sessions' to inform its curriculum, they said. The plan is to develop an 'experimental program' that is responsive to the needs of working artists, according to CASA Director Abbye Churchill and curator Hans Ulrich, who have been leading these discussions. Earlier this year, BMA-Institute filed an application with the city seeking approval for its renovation plans for the campus, which consists of an original Spanish colonial-style building designed by Bakewell & Brown and a 1960s brutalist addition designed by Paffard Keatinge-Clay. The campus was built a century ago, and was declared a landmark in 1977. Once approved, the renovation work is expected to begin in September, and span several years. The property's redesign — led by Jensen Architects, Laplace, and Page & Turnbull Construction — will feature private studios, shared workshops and communal areas for cooking, dining, and gathering. 'We don't have an opening date yet, but we will be able to share details on the construction timeline once our renovation and design plans are complete and the project is awarded to a contractor,' a spokesperson for the nonprofit told the Chronicle. CASA will also reopen public access to the 1931 mural Diego mural, ' The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City,' and introduce new public spaces including a café and art bookstore. The nonprofit's spokesperson said that public access to the mural, which has been locked away from view in recent years, is 'integral to our program plans, which will ensure the campus is woven seamlessly back into the life of the surrounding community and the arts ecosystem of San Francisco. Hours of operation are still being determined and will be shared as they are finalized, the spokesperson said. Mayor Daniel Lurie, who has been focused on revitalizing downtown San Francisco, which has seen commercial vacancy skyrocket and arts and culture institutions struggle in the wake of the pandemic, said that the city's 'arts community is driving our comeback.' ' Helping the former San Francisco Art Institute campus transform into the California Academy of Studio Arts will support San Francisco's artists, welcome others from across the world, and help drive our city's economic comeback,' Lurie said.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Frida Kahlo photo exhibit brings rare personal images to Hagerstown
The Washington County Museum of Fine Arts is set to host a major exhibition featuring personal photographs of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The exhibition, titled "Frida Kahlo: Picturing an Icon," will run from June 14 to Oct. 5, according to a community announcement. It will showcase 115 images from a collection of 450 photographs and objects acquired in 2003 by Vicente Wolf, a Cuban-born interior designer based in New York City. Wolf is believed to own the largest known collection of personal and family photographs of Kahlo in private hands. "My intention was to focus on the most iconic and emotionally resonant images — those that best capture Frida's presence, her aura and the complexity of her personal life," Wolf said in the announcement. "I was especially drawn to those that offered an intimate glimpse into her world, particularly those taken by Diego (her husband, Mexican artist Diego Rivera), which feel charged with both affection and insight. My goal was to create a portrait of Frida that goes beyond the myth — to reveal the woman, the artist and the vulnerability behind the legend." The museum has created a specially designed space for the exhibition, using a color palette taken from a photograph of Kahlo for Vogue Magazine, according to Executive Director Sarah J. Hall. All interpretive materials for the exhibition will be presented in both Spanish and English, and the museum has planned complementary activities, including Latin classical music performances, diary-making workshops and summer camps. "We want our visitors to be inspired by Frida's spirit by tapping into lived experience to make art," Hall said in the announcement. Wolf said that he hopes visitors will gain a deeper understanding of Kahlo through the exhibition. "It's one thing to see her art; it's another to see the life that fueled it," he said in the announcement. The exhibition is organized by Vicente Wolf Associates from Wolf's collection. Major funding has been provided by Nora and Bruce Wilder and the Visit Hagerstown & Washington County Convention & Visitors Bureau. The Washington County Museum of Fine Arts is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and is closed on Mondays and major holidays. Admission and parking are free. For more information, go to or call 301-739-5727. This story was created by Janis Reeser, jreeser@ with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at or share your thoughts at with our News Automation and AI team. The Herald-Mail is growing its local news: Send your news to us This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Frida Kahlo exhibition coming to Hagerstown museum
Economist
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Economist
Why Latin American Surrealism is surging in a down art market
In 1956 the painter Diego Rivera stated that three of the world's most important female artists lived in Mexico. (His wife, Frida Kahlo, had just died.) He was talking about European émigrée Surrealists: Remedios Varo of Spain, Leonora Carrington of England and Alice Rahon of France.
