MoMA’s Frida‑Mania
MoMA’s Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibition is drawing huge crowds and has been dubbed 'Frida‑Mania' — the show was produced with input from the Met Opera’s costume designer and is being framed as both a major draw and a marketing spectacle (hyperallergic.com). Critics say the presentation tilts toward spectacle over scholarship, but attendance and buzz remain strong. (hyperallergic.com).
MoMA is presenting Frida and Diego: The Last Dream, with museum press materials listing the exhibition on view March 29–September 12, 2026. (press.moma.org) MoMA’s calendar lists the presentation as running through September 12, 2026, on view in the Philip Johnson galleries on Floor 3. (moma.org) The installation assembles five paintings and a drawing by Frida Kahlo and “over a dozen” works by Diego Rivera, all drawn from MoMA’s collection, and includes photographic portraits by Lola Álvarez Bravo and Leo Matiz. (press.moma.org) Jon Bausor — credited as the stage-set and co-costume designer for the Metropolitan Opera production — designed the museum’s gallery environment, translating theatrical motifs and Mexican iconography into the installation. (moma.org/magazine/articles/1413) The show is organized in conjunction with the Met’s new opera El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego, composed by Gabriela Lena Frank with a libretto by Nilo Cruz and directed by Deborah Colker, with the opera scheduled at the Met from May 14–June 5, 2026. (press.moma.org(moma.org)) MoMA says public programs will be produced with the Metropolitan Opera to accompany the presentation, and the exhibition lists leadership support from donors including Denise Littlefield Sobel, Steven and Lisa Tananbaum, Jerry Speyer and Katherine Farley. (press.moma.org(moma.org))
