Handmade more than 3,000 miles away at the design specialist’s Huddersfield HQ, two ultra-illuminated lightboxes – each 3.4m wide and 2.5m tall – now welcome visitors to Brooklyn Museum’s Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving exhibition
This is the largest US exhibition – dedicated to this celebrated Mexican artist – in ten years, featuring paintings, photographs, film and personal artefacts from her home. Given the prestigious scale of this showcase, Leach has designed the displays to provide the public with an immersive visual experience, from the moment they arrive.
An inspiring feminist character, Frida Kahlo’s exhibition is rich in colour. The vivid pink and blue lightboxes – which inject the wow factor before visitors have even stepped inside – have therefore been on the cards since discussions with the museum’s curators began back in November.
Anne Pasternak, the Shelby White and Leon Levy, Director at Brooklyn Museum said: “We would like to thank Chargeurs for their generous support of this vital exhibition. The stunning Leach-designed lightboxes at the entry to our exhibition truly set the stage for a magnificent experience.”
Leach is part of Chargeurs Group – a global manufacturing and services brand with a philanthropic Foundation committed to fostering intercultural dialogue and access to culture, health and education. The collaboration with Brooklyn Museum is therefore well-aligned with the organisation’s worldwide mission.
“We’ve worked on some incredible heritage projects across the globe and adding the Brooklyn Museum to our roster of clients is very exciting indeed,” said Tom Foster, Project Director from Leach. “The Museum contains one of the nation’s most comprehensive and wide-ranging collections, spanning 5,000 years of creativity from various cultures worldwide, and it’s amazing to think that displays manufactured by our own creative technicians now welcome visitors to this iconic venue.”
Frida Kahlo came to define herself through her ethnicity, disability, and politics, all of which were at the heart of her work.
Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving will run until 12 May 2019.