Exhibition: Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up: Entry-Level Frida.

Abstract

V&A, London , 16 June to 4 November 2018 Before there was Tracy Emin and her unmade bed, there was Frida Kahlo. My introduction to her work was reading about a painting of hers owned by Madonna. The title of this was My Birth (1932) and depicts Frida, quite literally, giving birth to herself, watched over by an agonised Virgin Mary. It’s a disturbing, unforgettable image and sums up Frida’s art very aptly: direct, raw, painful, and unapologetic. Madonna later said in an interview with Vanity Fair that she used this painting to suss people out: ‘If somebody doesn’t like this painting then I know they can’t be my friend.’ I am sure Madonna and Frida would have got on well. This exhibition is a real feather in the V&A’s cap. A mighty archive of documents, photographs, and personal …