Frida between the earthly and the divine

At Roselle Gallery, we are pleased to present "Frida between the Earthly and the Divine," a masterpiece of stillness and symbolism where Esteban Machado Díaz offers us the most elevated, mythical, and serene version of the Latin American icon.

In this dazzling composition, the artist places us before a Caribbean coast at the exact moment the sun dyes the sea gold. Sheltered under a beautiful pergola crowned with vineyards, Frida Kahlo observes us with a hypnotic calm. It is no casual pose; Machado Díaz has masterfully positioned her as a Chacmool, the ancient Mesoamerican warrior sculpture that served as a messenger of the gods and guardian of the underworld.

However, instead of demanding sacrifices, this modern deity holds a bowl of grapes on her belly, offering the pure fruits of life. Around her, delicate hummingbirds descend from the sky to drink from the libations, acting as winged links between heaven and earth. The pergola, with its columns of white fabric, demarcates that magical space: the exact threshold where the physical ends and the spiritual begins.

In “Frida between the earthly and the divine”, Frida is found in the position of a Chacmool, which is nothing less than the mesoamerican sculpture of a warrior that appeared frequently in the Mayan culture as well as in some cases in the Aztec and Toltec cultures.

This figure is interpreted as a guardian of the underworld, a time traveler or a messenger of the gods who, in his belly, in most cases carries a bowl in which offerings were placed.

The work also recreates a sunset on a Caribbean coast where the sea bathes the rocks. Frida is sheltered in a pergola crowned by a vineyard and bunches of grapes from which the hummingbirds sip their libations as divine messengers. The pergola marks the space between the earthly and the divine.