Lust for Life
n January 2018, when Lyu Xiaoning crossed the threshold of La Casa Azul, Frida Kahlo’s family home in Coyoacán, Mexico, she was touched by a particular painting named . For her last work, completed in 1954 following complications from an amputated leg, Kahlo chose to paint vivacious red watermelons for their significance to the (Day of the Dead), a Mexican holiday celebrated on November 1 and 2. This holiday sees family and friends gather in remembrance of those who have gone before them. The artist inscribed the words “Viva la Vida”on the central melon wedge at the bottom of the canvas, which translate as “Long live life,” just eight days before
