Vectis Decorative and Fine Arts Society Lecture

Doors open at 7.15pm. Tea, coffee and bar are available before the lectures which begin at 8.00pm.

We ask you to be seated by 7.55pm. They finish at approximately 9.15-9-30pm Guests are welcome at a cost of £7 and £2 for students.

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Artists Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) and Diego Rivera (1886-1957) have iconic status in Mexico. Married in 1929, their turbulent lives and the turbulent times they lived through are the subject of Barbara Kingsolver's novel 'The Lacuna' (2009) and the film ‘Frida’ (2002).

Rivera’s panoramic images adorn the walls of public buildings, combining social criticism with a faith in human progress. Inspired by early Italian fresco painting, as well as by Aztec and Maya imagery, his intricate visual narratives incorporate allegory and symbolism.

Kahlo's work is small in format. Arguably Mexico’s most original painter, she made herself the principal theme of her art. Her paintings reflect her experiences, dreams, hopes and fears. In 2005 an estimated 340,000 visitors saw her retrospective at Tate Modern.

Lecturer Profile: Chloë Sayer is a freelance specialist in Latin American art and culture. A Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Chloë Sayer has made ethnographic collections and carried out fieldwork in Mexico and Belize for the British Museum. She has curated several exhibitions of Mexican folk art, and has worked on a number of television documentaries. Her many books include THE ARTS AND CRAFTS OF MEXICO (Thames & Hudson, 1990), THE SKELETON AT THE FEAST (British Museum Press, 1991), and FIESTA (British Museum Press, 2009). She has lectured in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Mexico and New Zealand. She also travels on Central American cruises as the NADFAS lecturer for Swan Hellenic.