Diego Rivera's America

[Diego Rivera’s America, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Exhibition view]

To Diego Rivera, “America” meant: “the territory included between the two ice barriers of the two poles.” He focused on promoting unity through his art, and on building towards a better future. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art showcases a breathtaking array of the hopes and ambitions he communicated through his art in their new exhibit: “Diego Rivera’s America.” The exhibit features an incredibly expansive collection of Rivera’s work—SFMOMA’s own collection was already 70 pieces—while also being a focused and intimate examination of the painter.

The Market, Diego Rivera, projection - SFMOMA

There are several galleries to explore, and you’d be doing yourself a disservice not to linger in all of them. The exhibition was arranged and brought to life with an impressive amount of care from the SFMOMA team. Trying to pinpoint all the details put into the presentation of Rivera’s work is almost overwhelming. Three rooms feature projections, which, at first glance, might appear as just a solitary image of one of Rivera’s murals. 

Creation, Diego Rivera, projection - SFMOMA

In The Market projection room, you can even hear the light chirping of birds. Each of these projection rooms is meant to invoke the full experience of seeing his murals in person. I highly recommend taking a moment to breathe in the atmosphere of each of the projections. 

Beyond the projections, there are several other rooms to check out. The rooms are organized thematically rather than biographically, as this exhibition focuses on the 1920-1940s rather than spanning his whole career. While Rivera is well-known as a master muralist and his most famous works are murals, this collection shines a spotlight on the extensive amount of easel work he completed. He often used his murals as inspiration for paintings and painted several canvases in between mural commissions because they were lucrative. 

Opponent of Nazism, Diego Rivera, SFMOMA 2022 exhibition

Another room, The Proletariat, focuses on Rivera’s support of the Communist party after a trip to the Soviet Union, and tells the story of how one of his murals was destroyed. As ghastly as it is to consider that someone would destroy his work, it was, thankfully, later recreated. The controversy was centered on his inclusion of Lenin within his commissioned mural, now titled: Man, Controller of the Universe. 

It was the Communist party’s focus on empowering the working man and marginalized groups that directly spoke to Rivera’s values. Several of Rivera’s works focus on the common man, paintings of men and women in the midst of their daily labor. Each of these pieces have titles such as: The Corn Seller, or The Embroider. By not using names, Rivera’s works became emblematic, representing the working class as a whole. 

The Flower Carrier, Diego Rivera, SFMOMA, 2022 exhibition

To expand upon the incredible level of detail I mentioned, one lovely example of how the thematic arrangement of the exhibition flows so well is The Flower Carrier. The Flower Carrier was the first Rivera obtained by SFMOMA, during their opening year of 1935. Naturally, the piece is a nexus among this collection. Standing before it, on your left you’ll find three other works by Rivera full of beautiful flowers. To your right, there's sketches of laborers struggling with heavy loads.

Also, several of the pieces are still within their original frames, almost a century old by now and still gorgeous. It's easy to spot the original frames among the more modern ones, they’re eye-catching with lots of filigree.

Left: Tehuantepec Costume, Diego Rivera, Right: Tehuana (Aurea Procel), Diego Rivera, SFMOMA.

The pair of paintings set side-by-side that illustrate Rivera’s love of Tehuantepec traditional dress feature an original frame and one that was made specifically to echo the other. 

Two rooms of the gallery are focused on San Francisco and Rivera’s connection to the city. Rivera and his wife Frida Kahlo spent an extensive amount of time in San Francisco, forging connections and developing their art; they even remarried here in 1940. Speaking of Kahlo, there are three of her works to be found among the collection. Once upon a time, Bay area reporters only referred to her as “Rivera’s wife.” Her portrait, Frieda and Diego Rivera, features subtle commentary on how Kahlo felt about that, even in the title. 

From Left to Right: The Captain, American Sailors, The Siren, Costume designs for ballet H.P., Diego Rivera, SFMOMA.

Now, my favorite room undoubtedly is the H.P. (Horsepower) room. H.P. was a ballet that Rivera did both costume and set design work for. It was a one night only performance because, well, it closed on opening night. The ballet’s strangely lackluster reception aside, it's hard not to be entranced by Rivera’s costume renderings that line the walls and most of all: the pair of fully realized costumes. 

Left to Right: Tobacco; Banana; Design by Diego Rivera, Fabrication by Toztli Abril de Dios, SFMOMA.

SFMOMA commissioned Mexican artist and puppet-maker Toztli Abril de Dios to bring two of the renderings to life and they are a trip. A pair of masterpieces for the characters Banana and Tobacco. It was certainly a modernist ballet, unabashedly unique in its presentation. It’s a treat to see these costume recreations in person and study the craftsmanship of the constructions up close.

Studies for Pan American Unity, Diego Rivera, SFMOMA.

There’s much more to explore in the exhibition that I’ve yet to mention, and several treats to take in, such as the use of plywood. Hear me out, Rivera lived in a makeshift studio of plywood when he was growing his career, so several of his pieces in the collection have been mounted on plywood. Curator James Oles said the use of plywood throughout the show is meant to signal process, and potential change. Plywood, as, well, a pliable thin wood, represents these ideas, on top of making us feel like we’ve stepped into Rivera’s studio. 

The costumes and the projections are not the full extent of the lengths the SFMOMA team went to in fleshing out the atmosphere of the exhibition. They also created a short animation that walks you through all the steps Rivera went through in making his murals, from the sketches to the full realizations. The animation is delightful, flows well, and is truly fascinating. 

The Embroider, Diego Rivera, SFMOMA

Lastly, there are pieces among the collection that have never been available for public viewing, or haven’t been seen for decades - pieces originally sold to private collections only recently lent or bought by museums for display. For example, The Embroider, which depicts a woman in Tehuantepec at work in weaving threads to life, is a representation of Rivera’s love for and fascination with the traditional culture of Tehuantepec.

Portrait of Frances Ford Seymour and Frances de Villers Brokaw, Diego Rivera, SFMOMA.

Another example is a commission by Jane Fonda’s mother, Francis Ford Seymour, a double portrait of her and her daughter Frances. 

The In the Studio room is intriguing because it’s a who’s who of famous faces that gave Rivera a visit. Though it’s hardly surprising that well-known intellectuals and wealthy figures of the time sought out the company of the internationally acclaimed artist.

Pan American Unity, Diego Rivera, SFMOMA

One last highlight of the collection to keep in mind is the Pan American Unity mural, also titled: The Marriage of the Artistic Expression of the North and of the South on this Continent. So if you’re hyped up to check it out after getting to view all his sketches and preparation work for the mural featured in the exhibition, don’t forget to swing by. You’ll find the massive masterpiece on view in the Roberts Family Gallery  - it's housed separately from the exhibition in a free to the public area, so you can go and admire it at any point during your trip.

Diego Rivera’s America is on view at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from July 16, 2022–January 2, 2023