Tickets on sale to view major Frida Kahlo art exhibition in Glen Ellyn opening June 5

[Frida Kahlo's "Self Portrait with Small Monkey" is a 1945 oil on Masonite work from the Museo Dolores Olmedo in Mexico, copyright 2018 Banco de México, Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico City, Mexico.]

The center's Cleve Carney Art Gallery will be expanded to accommodate the 26 works from the Museo Dolores Olmedo, a museum in Mexico City that holds the largest private collection of the late artist's works, according to COD.

After surviving polio at age 6, Kahlo was in a streetcar accident at age 18, causing a broken spine among many injuries that led to 30 surgeries throughout her life. Initially bedridden for months, Kahlo was encouraged by her parents to take up painting to pass the time. Using a mirror placed above her bed, she would become best known for self-portraits highlighting themes of identity, politics, sexuality and death.

The Cleve Carney Museum of Art and the McAninch Arts Center at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn will host one of the largest private collections of original artwork by Frida Kahlo in a multifaceted exhibition titled “Frida Kahlo: Timeless.” The exhibition, opening June 5 and running through Sept. 6, 2021, will be the most comprehensive presentation of Kahlo’s work displayed in the Chicago area in more than 40 years.

Frida Kahlo

The 26-piece collection, on loan from the Museo Dolores Olmedo, features an array of oil paintings and works on paper spanning the life of Kahlo, a Mexican artist foundational to the 20th century art historical canon, a news release stated. Best known for self-portraits highlighting themes of identity, politics, sexuality and death, Kahlo channeled her childhood and personal struggles into her art and became an iconic figure and symbol of female empowerment, individual courage and Mexican pride.

Frida Kahlo portrait of Alicia Galant, 1927, oil on canvas, Collection Museo Dolores Olmedo, Xochimilco, Mexico.

The exhibition includes pivotal pieces created throughout the artist’s life, including 19 oil paintings, representing over one tenth of the total number of Kahlo paintings in existence. Works from Kahlo’s early life follow a period when the artist was left bedridden for months after surviving a life-altering bus accident at the age of 18. The artworks on display span her lifetime, concluding with a work completed the year of her death.

Alongside the 26 original works, this multifaceted and immersive exhibition features a multimedia timeline with reproductions of Kahlo’s clothing, more than 100 photographic images from the artist’s life, a family-friendly children’s area, and a Frida Kahlo-inspired garden designed by Ball Horticultural Company enabling museum-goers of all ages to grasp an understanding of Kahlo’s life and work through a variety of contexts.

The exhibition and related programming is organized by “Frida Kahlo: Timeless” Executive Director Diana Martinez (director of the McAninch Arts Center) in collaboration with Justin Witte, the show’s curator and CCMA curator.

“Frida was very much a person of the people, and this intimate, educational showcase brings works never before seen in the Chicago area to DuPage County,” Martinez stated in the release. “This exhibition is one-of-a-kind and is not traveling elsewhere. In addition to the 26 original artworks that will be on view, we have developed a historical timeline, display of over 100 photographic images from the artist’s life, a poetry garden and children’s area, which enrich the viewing experience.

“Our setting within a performing arts center and academic institution has provided us with resources not typically available to most museums, enabling us to present work by an iconic historical figure in a new light,” she said.

“The work in this collection maps the arc of Frida Kahlo’s exceptional life and career,” Witte stated in the release. “Frida Kahlo and her work were so interconnected that it is impossible to separate one from the other. That is also why her presence is still strongly felt in every piece in this exhibition. For exhibition visitors to have the opportunity to experience Kahlo’s life and work in the intimate and unique setting of the Cleve Carney Museum of Art will be a once in a lifetime experience.”

“Frida Kahlo: Timeless” will be on view June 5 to Sept. 6 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday; and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday. The exhibition is presented by Bank of America and made possible by the support of Ball Horticultural Company, Wight & Company, Nicor, AeroMexico, The National Endowment for the Arts, DuPage Foundation, Illinois Office of Tourism and the College of DuPage Foundation.

For more information and to purchase tickets, both timed or untimed, visit Frida2021.org or call 630-942-4000.

The exhibition has been designed with health and safety as a priority. CCMA and the MAC will implement touchless ticket-taking and timed entry, temperature checks upon arrival and social distancing markers in accordance with CDC regulations. Hand-sanitizing stations and HEPA filters have been installed throughout the space. Guests must wear a face covering at all times during their visit. For more information about COVID-19 precautions, visit theccma.org/safety-protocols.