A Frida Kahlo Retrospective Arrives at Tate Modern with Record Ticket Sales

A retrospective exhibition of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo opened its doors to the public on June 25th at Tate Modern in London. The exhibition has already broken the record for the highest pre-sale of tickets in the history of this famous contemporary art museum.

The show, which will run until January 3, 2027, brings together 32 paintings by the Mexican artist (1907-1954). In total, approximately 250 works are on display at the event, among which stand out pieces by other painters about Frida or influenced by her. In addition, the exhibition includes photographs and personal objects of the artist.

This is the second time that Tate Modern has opened its doors to Kahlo's works; the first was in 2005, when it also held a retrospective of the artist.

Tobias Ostrander, the American curator who shares responsibility for the exhibition with the Spanish curator Beatriz García Velasco, states: "This new exhibition addresses how we arrived at this moment of fame and iconization of Frida. From 2005 to the present day, her fame has increased dramatically, and with each decade, interest in her works grows ever greater."

He adds: "Many exhibitions about Frida have been held, but this one is unique in its perspective, as it is the first to focus on her as a 'cultural phenomenon'."

Among the works by other artists present in the exhibition, highlights include the paintings "Portrait of Frida Kahlo" by Diego Rivera (1935) and "Sueño y presentimiento" by María Izquierdo (1947).

With 41,000 tickets sold in advance, the exhibition set a historical record, equaling exhibitions of great names in art such as Picasso, Van Gogh, and Warhol.

Simultaneously with this event and on the occasion of Kahlo's 119th birthday, Catherine Wood (interim director of Tate Modern) announced the inauguration of an outdoor mural called "¡Frida Icónica!" on Carnaby Street in London's Soho district. This mural is decorated with traditional Mexican papel picado and a flower arch adorned with Frida's famous phrase written in neon lights: "I paint my own reality."