The Mexican artist Frida Kahlo had a unique and instantly 
recognizable style that was an integral part of her identity. Kahlo came to define herself through her ethnicity, disability, and politics, elements that were at the heart of her work. Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving is the largest exhibition in the U.S. in ten years dedicated to the iconic painter and the first in the United States to showcase a collection of her clothing and other personal belongings, which were rediscovered and inventoried in 2004 after being kept under lock and key since Kahlo’s death in 1954. They are displayed alongside important paintings, drawings, and photographs from the celebrated Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th Century 
Mexican Art, as well as related historical films and ephemera. To highlight the collecting interests of Kahlo and her husband, the muralist Diego Rivera, works from our extensive collection of Mesoamerican art are also included.
Kahlo’s personal artifacts — ranging from notable examples of Kahlo’s tehuana clothing, contemporary and pre-colonial jewelry, and some of the many hand-painted vests and prosthetics used by the artist during her life — had been stored in the Casa Azul (Blue House), Kahlo and Rivera’s long-time home in Mexico City, which had stipulated that her belongings not be disclosed until 15 years after Rivera’s death. The objects shed new light on how Kahlo shaped her appearance and formed her personal and public identity to reflect her cultural heritage and political beliefs, while also addressing and incorporating her physical disabilities.
Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving is based on an exhibition at the V&A London curated by Claire Wilcox and Circe Henestrosa, with Gannit Ankori as a curatorial consultant. Her ongoing participation has been essential in presenting the exhibition in Brooklyn, which is organized by 
Catherine Morris, Sackler Senior Curator for the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, and Lisa Small, Senior Curator, European Art, Brooklyn Museum, in collaboration with the Banco de México Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, and The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th Century Mexican Art and The Vergel Foundation.
The exhibition will be held at the Brooklyn Museum from February 8 to May 12, 2019. For more information: www.brooklynmuseum.org