The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) will debut Frida: The Making of an Icon, curated by Mari Carmen Ramírez in January 2026.
Nickolas Muray, “Frida with Her Pet Eagle, Coyoacán,” 1939, printed 2024, inkjet print. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of Nickolas Muray Photo Archives. © Nickolas Muray Photo Archives
Featuring works by Frida Kahlo and artists inspired by her, the show illustrates how she transformed from being under-recognized throughout her lifetime to one of the most beloved artists by mainstream audiences. The show includes over 30 works by Ms. Kahlo and more than 120 pieces by artists inspired by her, from the 1970s and onward. Among the 72 exhibited artists are Amalia Mesa-Bains, Ana Mendieta, Carlos Almaraz, Delilah Montoya, Judy Chicago, and Kiki Smith.
In a press release, Ms. Ramírez, the Wortham Curator of Latin American Art at the MFAH and founding director of the museum’s International Center for the Arts of the Americas (ICAA), commented, “Frida: The Making of an Icon attempts to separate Frida Kahlo the artist from Frida Kahlo the phenomenon. The exhibition reveals how the different facets of Kahlo’s complex persona(lity), which she so carefully crafted and projected, were adapted again and again over her decades-long transformation into an icon.”
She continued, “As a result, her image became subsumed within the desires, fears, and hopes of artists and activists who transformed it into innovative proposals that transcend their source of inspiration while commenting on pressing issues of their place and time. In exploring that process, the exhibition re-establishes Kahlo’s own identity, and asserts her persistent relevance to contemporary art as well as activism over the past 70 years.”
The exhibition will be presented thematically in seven sections: Construction/Self-Construction, Surreal Affinities, On the Other Side of the Border, Gendered Dialogues, Neo-Mexicanisms, A Pro-Activist Legacy, and Fridamania. In addition to artworks, the show will feature documents, photographs, and memorabilia, including personal items from Ms. Kahlo’s archives. A catalog with essays by 14 contributors will accompany the exhibition.
Friday: The Making of an Icon will be on view at the MFAH from January 18 through May 17, 2026, and at the Tate Modern in London from June 25, 2026, to January 4, 2027.
