Detroit exhibit explores art, interplay of Kahlo, Rivera

Visitors view Frida Kahlo's 1931 painting "Frieda and Diego Rivera" in a new exhibition titled "Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit" at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit Tuesday, March 10, 2015. The exhibition focuses on the period between April 1932 and March 1933. The couple lived in Detroit while Rivera completed his Detroit Industry murals masterpiece at the museum. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) Visitors view Frida Kahlo's 1931 painting "Frieda and Diego Rivera" in a new exhibition titled "Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit" at the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit Tuesday, March 10, 2015. The exhibition focuses on the period between April 1932 and March 1933. The couple lived in Detroit while Rivera completed his Detroit Industry murals masterpiece at the museum. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

By Associated Press March 10, 2015 1 min read

DETROIT (AP) – A new exhibit in Detroit focuses on the pivotal and productive year Mexican artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo spent in the city during the 1930s.

“Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Detroit” debuts Sunday at the Detroit Institute of Arts, where Rivera’s “Detroit Industry” murals – created during their Detroit stay – grace the walls. The exhibit features about 65 artworks and is the first to focus on the couple’s time in the city.

Their work often seems a study in contrasts – he opts for the big and global, she the small and personal. But curator Mark Rosenthal said Tuesday the exhibit reveals how they were sharing ideas and “responding to each other artistically.”

The exhibit includes Rivera’s conceptual drawings for the mural and self-portraits by Kahlo.