‘A smile in middle of way’ expo opens

photo exhibition dedicated to the life of prominent Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera opened in Baku on July 6.

‘A smile in the middle of the way’ expo, organized by the Embassy of Mexico in Baku , features photos from the family archive of the artists.

The exhibition timed to the birthday of Frida Kahlo took place in the "Rotunda -1" room of the Landmark Hotel .

‘A smile in the middle of the way’ has already travelled to many countries of the world, but in Baku it has opened for the first time.

Ambassador of Mexico in Baku Rodrigo Labardini, addressing the event, spoke about life and creative activity the couple Kahlo - Rivera and noted their great contribution to the culture of Mexico and the world.

The ambassador said that holding of such cultural events helps Azerbaijani and Mexican people to get to know each other, develop relationships, and thereby contributes to the development of bilateral cooperation.

Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo were one of the most controversial and well-known couples in the history of art in Mexico.

One of Mexico's greatest artists, Frida Kahlo began painting after she was severely injured in a bus accident. She later became politically active and married fellow communist artist Diego Rivera in 1929.

After her accident, Kahlo abandoned the study of medicine and began to paint, to occupy herself during her three-month immobilization. Self-portraits were a dominant motif then. Kahlo once said, “I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best.

Kahlo created at least 140 paintings, along with dozens of drawings and studies. Of her paintings, 55 are self-portraits which often incorporate symbolic portrayals of physical and psychological wounds. She insisted, “I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.

She exhibited her paintings in Paris and Mexico before her death in 1954.

Diego Rivera had a great influence on Kahlo’s painting style. Kahlo had always admired Rivera and his work.

Rivera’s large frescoes helped establish the Mexican mural movement in Mexican art.