‘When Doves Cry’  – Johnny Romeo

The icon of Kahlo – the sumptuous mono-brow, the piercing gaze, the defiant feminine Mexican figure – is one of the most instantly recognizable in Western art and pop-culture. ‘When Doves Cry’, the latest series from Johnny Romeo, explores the symbol of Kahlo as both an empowered heroine, and a figure who has experience immense suffering. The paintings, each of Kahlo, see Romeo boldly venturing into the realm of portraiture as a clever homage to Frida Kahlo’s own tradition of self-portrait. With his signature part pop, part punk gusto and explosively colourful expressiveness, Romeo endeavours, in his words, to ‘paint Frida the way she may have painted herself, had she been a pop artist.’

Letham Gallery, Ponsonby, Auckland, New Zealand opens Thursday 17th May 2012 – 6-8pm www.lethamgallery.co.nz