Exhibits, Play Celebrate Life, Work Of Mexican Artist Frida Kahlo

TAMPA - Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-54) is a popular choice to showcase during Hispanic Heritage Month.

Born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon, she was a free-spirited, independent woman who often translated her emotions onto her canvas in vivid tones and surrealistic images. She also led an often-tumultuous life.

In two exhibits and a dramatization, two museums play on Kahlo's popularity, intriguing lifestyle and the 100th anniversary of her birth.

The Tampa Museum of Art, 600 N. Ashley Drive, presents 60 photographic portraits taken throughout Kahlo's life. The portraits are from the collection of Spencer Throckmorton, a specialist in Latin American photographs, a collection that includes more than 100 images of Kahlo.

The exhibition includes works by well-known photographers and leading photojournalists, as well as Kahlo's relatives, friends and lovers.

Called 'Frida Kahlo: Images of an Icon,' the show runs Saturday through Dec. 16.

Call the museum at (813) 274-8130 for information.

The Gulf Coast Museum of Art also presents a photographic exhibit of Kahlo, but from a different perspective. The photos are by Nickolas Muray, a Hungarian photographer who had a romance with Kahlo during the 1930s while she was married to famous muralist Diego Rivera.

Muray had just started using color photography in an era when black and white photos still dominated. The 47 photos in the exhibit include color and black and white images, as well as several pieces of correspondence between the lovers.

The exhibition runs Oct. 27 through Jan. 26, with an opening reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 26 at the museum, 12211 Walsingham Road, Largo. Museum executive director Michelle Turman will present a curator talk at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free for members and $10 for nonmembers.

The museum also will present a dramatization of Kahlo's life at 2 p.m. Nov. 11 and Dec. 2 in the auditorium. Local actor and playwright Nan Colton wrote and performs the one-woman show.

Admission is $20 for museum members and $25 for nonmembers.

Call the museum at (727) 518-6833 for information.

New Art Lands At Airport Terminal

If you're headed to Airside A at Tampa International Airport, take note of the new art hanging from the walls and ceiling.

Curator Caesar A. Carbajal put together the exhibit of works by local artists Donald Butler, Jeff Jacoby, Elio Lopez and Trinity Rivard, as well as his own art.

The exhibit will be displayed for six to nine months.

Nuance Galleries Showcases Favorite

Nuance Galleries in South Tampa is focusing this month on one of its favorite international artists, Alvar Sunol of Spain.

Known as Alvar, the artist hand-embosses his stone lithographs, which are often done in series called suites. His works reflect everyday experiences, such as talking, eating, painting and playing music.

See Alvar's work through Oct. 27 at the gallery, 804 S. Dale Mabry Highway. Admission is free. Call the gallery at (813) 875-0511 for details.

Ybor City Gallery Hosts New Exhibit

5 Art in Ybor City will host 'Visions, Voices and Other Hallucinations; Stories & Art by Christopher W. Weeks,' from Saturday through Oct. 26.

An opening reception from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday includes light refreshments; a donation is requested.

The gallery is at 1816 15th St. Call (813) 349-9056 for details.

Tampa Photographer To Discuss Work

Tampa artist David Audet is showing photos he shot in Cuba in 2002 and 2003 in an exhibit called 'Cuba Particular' at the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts.

He will discuss the works and share anecdotes as well as printing techniques during a gallery talk from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 17 at the museum, 200 N. Tampa St. A $4 donation is suggested.

Call (813) 221-2222 or visit www.fmopa.org for information.