Artists Statement

What is it about Frida Kahlo that inspires an artist to create...

 

 

My painting is my homage to the great artist and feminist icon Frida Kahlo, who managed to transform her painful life experiences into inspiration for her art. It’s a reminder to keep strong and resilient as sometimes obstacles or setbacks are necessary for us to grow and achieve greater things......Alexandra Moskalenko

 

 

I have admired Frida Kahlo for many years as a woman and artist; her individualism, courage and passion inspires me......Jan Irvine

 

 

She was unhappy, suffered a lot of pain and unhappy in her love life. She had a rich fantasy about her life and tried to express her dreams and sadness into beautiful paintings.....Mark Pol

 

 

It was one of Frida Kahlo's central beliefs that dualities underlie the workings of the world. My painting FKahlo:Passion and Pain strives to capture the complexity and ambivalence of the artist's multi-layered emotional self.....Lisa Kreuziger

 

 

To a fascinating and bewildering beauty whose constant closeness to death pushed her to live her life with insatiable and unwavering curiosity. Hail Frida!”.....Frencesca Busca

 

 

Frida Kahlo's life is a lesson on transforming pain into art, tragedy into fiesta. My work is part of an ongoing exploration of the possibilities of art to transform situations of my life into paint and colour.  As Frida said: Viva la Vida!.....Beatriz Acevedo

 

 

"Coyoacan - Kahlo's Garden" was made following a visit to that part of Mexico City where Kahlo lived. 

Houses in Coyoacan are painted in vibrant, sometimes lurid, colours; Kahlo's house ,"Casa Azul" and garden are no exception: brilliant blues, reds and pinks alongside lime green, yellows and oranges. Wonderful!.....Peter Austin

 

 

A firm character with such authenticity and lucidity that people understood there was no alternative persona; this was Frida. It's not easy chasing uniqueness, a passion for life has to be felt.  Each of her canvas being the extended embodiment of life, thoughts and dreams.....Barbara Ayala Sanchez

 

 

My current work explores catholic imaginary and the relationship between women and pain inflicted to their hearts, inspired by Frida Kalho’s relationship with Diego Rivera, a vehement bond of dualities that fluctuated between pain and pleasure, heaven and hell.....Judith Bieletto

 

 

I'm inspired by her determination to create during her illness, she's colourful, she wasn't afraid to express.....Tomas Amare

 

 

Everything in the painting La Columna Rota speaks of pain – her tears, her torn body, the nails piercing even her face, the landscape like broken bleeding skin.

The structure supporting her serves to emphasise the fragility of her body and her defiant pose.....Diane Maclean

 

 

I'm in awe of her ability to push boundaries of gender, disability and many more, as shown not only in her art but also in her colourful wardrobe.....Laura Bello
 

 

"Working on the Vitality-Mortality series led me to reference some of the enduring iconography of Frida Kahlo, an artist simultaneously fully immersed in the exuberance of life, while pitting her spirit against struggles with frailty and health. I also share her autobiographical concerns, using the framework of the personal to discuss universal experience.".....Barbara Ash

 

 

I find Frida Kahlo’s  love of vivid colours and lush foliage inspirational .  Considering her red shoes with their joyful connotations of dancing

 at first seems quite playful but it give pause for thought as to whether Frida would have been able to dance and move around feely.....Lesley O'Mara

 

 

In all her pain she created, expressing her innermost emotions, nothing left unsaid. Her imprint on the world is immeasurable.....Rilexie

 

 

I can relate very easily to Frida Kahlo's work, which is fearlessly honest, regardless of public opinion.....June Carey

 

 

Frida Kahlo's raging passion and fierce, passionate desire to survive have descended to this world in the form of paintings. With her spirit to paint, I resonate.....Yuko Mizobuchi

 

 

Autobiographical work of Frida Khalo gives hope and desire to create and connect through the image of self.....Yuliya Krylova

 

 

Refusing to base his work on preconceived ideas, Paulo Tercio looks at it afresh by drawing inspiration from his unconscious mind giving Frida a new identity perhaps redeeming in us her eternal passion for life. What inspires him the most about Frida Kahlo is her capacity to transform vulnerability into strength.​....Paulo Tercio

 

 

My work "Bone Gardenia" was inspired by the deep vein of pantheism present in Frida Kahlo's works.  In her images I see plants, animals and humans, living and dead, and all the wonderful aspects of life seeming to belong to one interconnected entity, which I have also presented here.....Neil Johnstone​

 

 

Respect.....respect...respect, that is how I feel about Frida Kahlo. Her work forces you to be true to yourself and for that Frida Kahlo I have respect....respect....respect.....Brigitte Boldy

 

 

Freda to me is as relevant as then, she is an inspiration. My connection with Freda's work is her use of symbolism, colour and narrative, which has taking me on a journey of my own self discovery.....Hannah Shams

 

 

Frida Kahlo has been an inspiration in living your own life both personally and professionally. Frida Kahlo made it acceptable to expose your troubles and loves in life.

She made it acceptable to share emotions.....Marianne Frank

 

 

Frida Kahlo mixes her familiar things and various events then draws them on one screen.....Mayu Shiomi

 

 

I have always loved the work of Frida Kahlo and her work has influenced me almost subliminally, especially several years ago when making paintings that dealt with a serious illness....Sally Grumbridge

 

 

Frida's  short but intense life journey of physical illness and  emotional pain is clearly portrayed in her work. Her fiery passion and love of people, animals and nature inspired me to create  "Love".....Carolan

 

 

Frida Kahlo was a powerful, beautiful, fascinating unique woman and amazing artist. Her marriage to artist Diego Rivera was one of passionate love and infidelities. The current work glorifies Frida’s impossible love, commemorating her as culture hero and symbol of a free-spirited woman and artist.....Dor Confino

 

 

When I feel like I have nothing to work with, I am in pain, my images are too weird, I am unsure of what I want to make, I know that Kahlo has been there, and I hear her words… “…I'm here, and I'm just as strange as you.".....Kate Milsom

 

 

In 1940 Frida Kahlo dedicated a self portrait to her Dr. Leo Eloesser.

My sculpture "Frida's Dedication" is inspired by a longstanding fascination with her strength of character and courageous life. Frida painted flowers to keep them alive : my homage is to keep her legacy alive through sculptural interpretation of her artwork.....Cheryl Gould MRBS

 

 

Being part of Lust for Life, particular painting came back to my mind: Fulang Chang and I. It presents a self-portrait of Frida and her pet monkey.

For me the totemic animal could not be anything but an owl, as a personal testimony of what was and is not not anymore, forcing me, like all of us all of us, to deal with grief throughout all our life.Thank god for colours, which makes the journey a bit more bearable..... LAC 

 

 

My work, "Metamorphosis’ is about change and transformation. The fragile beauty of nature, yet vitality and drive for growth. Flowers rich with visual symbolism s

uggest the feminine, and fulfilling potential.  Inner strength and beauty which has come about through personal challenge is something that resonates for me in

Frida’s work.....Nicola Weir

 

 

The work "What if Thumbelina didn't fly with the birds and married the blind mole instead" conveys the artist's feeling about a claustrophobic marriage and a woman's experience of temptation, pain, love, betrayal, helplessness and ultimately finding here own strength. Her emotions, transferred on to canvases were part of a process of Frida freeing herself from the severity of life expirience.....Sima Toropov-Vassilieva

 

 

Frida Kahlo showed me the possibility of dreaming and being Strong. Her colors on the clothes and paintings, even keeping so much pain inside, are a respire of hope....Camila Fontenele de Miranda

 

 

For a long time I have wanted to Paint Frida, her work continues to inspire me. Frida had such an amazing ability to emotionally connect and tell stories with her art. Never before have I stood in a gallery and been moved by work such as hers.​....Kelly O'Gorman

 

 

Much of my work as an artist, particularly my earlier works, have been heavily influenced by Frida Kahlo's life and legacy. My piece 'Life is beautiful that way'  is an homage to a woman who has become a symbol for endurance and lust for life.....Jess de Wahls 

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Frida Kahlo represents what I admire most in women – strength, substance and their lust for life and love. This multi-layered piece is interspersed with mirrors and symbolic messages around fertility and womanhood.....Daniel Fisher

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The recognizable situations and elements leave space for contemplation and reflection. Conventional rules are repealed, and imagination interferes with

reality. A meditative mood of calm and loneliness, shifts in perspectives,representations of sceneries are distorted, and play with the viewer's attention and bring them closer to a magical reality. This is something I feel Frida’s and my work have in common.....Caroline Krabbe