ANEW: Women in the Arts by Female Painters

ANEW, a project created by painters Itala Langmar and Olena M. Marshall, examines the legacies of women who made significant contributions as artists and style icons.

Olena’s subject is Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The series of paintings, collectively titled Frida Style, reference the discovery of Frida’s diaries, wardrobe, and jewelry items, some stored unseen for decades in La Casa Azul.

Grounded in these historical objects and drawing on modernist traditions, Olena's paintings interpret, through a harmonious combination of strong geometric shapes and colors, the precision with which Frida presented herself to the world. In doing so, Frida Style explores the universal themes of femininity, style, and identity. Frida as a writer is evidenced by every painting, allowing the viewer to access the seldom witnessed aspects of her self-expression.