It is Chicago audiences’ last chance to experience Lighthouse Immersive and Maestro Immersive Art’s Immersive Frida Kahlo before it concludes its six-month run at Lighthouse ArtSpace Chicago (108 W. Germania Place) at the end of the month. Tickets are available starting at $29.99 at immersive-frida.com/chicago/.
Immersive Frida Kahlo takes viewers through the world and work of 20th century, Mexican-born artist Frida Kahlo, best known for her fantastical self-portraits. Created by Italy’s world-renowned master of digital art Massimiliano Siccardi and Art Director Vittorio Guidotti, the fully-immersive, 360-degree projections bring to life the vibrancy and authenticity of Kahlo’s work, all pulled together by composer Luca Longobardi’s resonant score.
Lighthouse Immersive, North America’s leading producer of ground-breaking experiential art exhibits, produced the exhibition following the critically acclaimed blockbuster Immersive Van Gogh, seen by over 5 million across North America. Immersive Frida Kahlo was named as one of the 10Best romantic things to do in Chicago by USA Today, with NBC Chicago calling it “a fabulous way to experience art.”
The show highlights Frida Kahlo’s life, inner thoughts and struggles through a blend of photos of the artist at various ages and figures from Kahlo’s life that influenced her worldview intermingled with her art –– including The Two Fridas (1939), The Wounded Deer (1946) and Diego and I (1946). The projections are shown on Lighthouse Immersive’s massive architectural canvas, using state-of-the-art projectors for a crisp image and high-quality sound systems that heighten the mood-setting score.
Lighthouse ArtSpace Chicago’s latest show Immersive Monet & The Impressionists will continue to show with Immersive Van Gogh on alternating days as Immersive King Tut is set to open Oct. 14, 2022 in Chicago.
For more information about Immersive Frida Kahlo, visit immersive-frida.com. Follow the exhibition and venue on social media: @fridaimmersive on Instagram and @immersivefrida on Facebook and @lighthouseartspacechicago on Instagram and Facebook.
About Frida Kahlo
Kahlo was born in 1907 in Mexico City. After surviving polio at the age of six, Kahlo was involved in a horrific accident at the age of 18, when the bus she was riding on was struck by a streetcar, leaving her with a broken spinal column, along with a myriad of other injuries. Bedridden, Kahlo was encouraged by her parents to take up painting to pass the time. A custom-made easel allowed her to paint while lying down. During these long days, Kahlo often spent hour after hour staring at her own image that was reflected in a mirror fixed over her bed. It is here that she began presenting herself as the subject matter of her work, channelling her personal struggles into her art. Kahlo’s travels throughout Mexico and the United States further developed her artistic style. Individualistic and rebellious, her spirit was torn between the Communist Party and the Mexican Nationalist movement. Despite her lifelong passion for her husband, Diego Rivera, she is said to have had numerous affairs with other men and women. Throughout her life, Kahlo developed a rich iconography touching on the realms of life and death and mixing violence and vulnerability in ways that often shocked viewers by pushing gender norms. Kahlo stands today as an iconic figure and a symbol of female empowerment, individual courage and Mexican pride.
Kahlo’s popularity has grown exponentially in recent decades and has been prominently featured in museums worldwide. Public interest was bolstered by several recently released biographies and Julie Taymor’s Academy Award-nominated film starring Salma Hayek. The announcement of Immersive Frida Kahlo comes after a recent record-breaking sale of Frida Kahlo’s 1949 painting “Diego and I,” which sold at Sotheby’s on Tuesday, Nov. 16 for $34.9 million dollars, making it the most prized piece of Latin American artwork ever sold at auction. The sale of “Diego and I” surpassed a benchmark set by Kahlo’s husband Diego Rivera in 2018, when one of his paintings sold at auction for $9.76 million.
About Lighthouse Immersive
Lighthouse Immersive creates, produces and distributes innovative digital immersive art experiences through its experiential entertainment multiplex digital art galleries, aiming to cultivate community and creativity through large-scale events and exhibitions of all art forms. Lighthouse Immersive offers versatile spaces for creators to present their work while engaging audiences in unique art experiences that encourage dialogue and inspire new artistic creations. Lighthouse Immersive has produced the world premiere of Immersive Van Gogh, Immersive Frida Kahlo and Immersive Klimt: Revolution to more than 21 North American cities. Recognized as the leader in immersive art experiences, Lighthouse Immersive custom-designs each of their venues, named Lighthouse ArtSpace, to distinctly envelop the various architectural settings they inhabit, it operates galleries in a range of historic venues including refurbished industrial and retail spaces.
Since 2021, the company has opened 21 new galleries in North American cities including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Boston and Denver, and is currently expanding into additional markets. To date, Lighthouse Immersive has sold over 5 million tickets to Immersive Van Gogh across North America, with Artnet calling it “one of the largest coordinated art phenomena of all time.”
About Maestro Immersive Art
Maria Shclover and Irina Shabshis are the co-founders of Maestro Immersive Art. Shclover founded Maestro Artist Management in 2004, Shabshis in 2005, and together they have presented more than 1,000 theatrical and classical music performances across the United States, including projects with Michel Legrand, Mikhail Baryshnikov, John Malkovich and more.