Exhibition on Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera coming to Tbilisi museum

A photographic display that follows the tumultuous 20th century love story of artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera will come to Tbilisi amid anticipation of museum-goers in Georgia’s capital.

Bringing up to 100 photographs of the acclaimed creatives during their 25 years of relationship to the venue, the show is titled Diego and Frida. A Smile in the Middle of the Way.

First exhibited in 2002 at the Studio Museum of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Mexico, the show will now be hosted for the public at the Museum of Georgia, starting on October 30.

[The photographs show the artists’] daily life, second marriage [and] the working process at [the] studio of [the] notable couple of Mexican Art history”, a preview by the Georgian National Museum network said.

The displayed exhibits illustrate “all the key stages of couple’s relationship” and their profile on the art scene, the GNM release noted. Kahlo and Rivera’s final photograph before the former’s death in 1954 is also part of the show.

Beside the photographs of the internationally exhibited display, a tribute to Kahlo by Georgian artist Irma Sharikadze — an installation titled A Dream in a Garden — will also take up the space of the Museum of Georgia.

The relationship between Kahlo and Rivera is one of the most recognised in the art world, with the couple’s creative legacy intertwined with their personal story.

They married in 1929 before separating and reuniting several times. The celebrated creatives’ love was subject of works by photographers including Edward Weston, Nickolas Muray and Guillermo Kahlo.

Diego and Frida. A Smile in the Middle of the Way will be open at the Museum of Georgia, located on 3, Rustaveli Avenue, between October 30-November 4.