This striking Frida Kahlo Catrina by Jorge Mercado Castillo of Izúcar de Matamoros, Puebla is built into a richly decorated Tree of Life form. Frida appears as a skeletal figure with her long dark hair swept to one side, surrounded by brilliant flowers and two small birds perched near her shoulders. The entire sculpture is painted in saturated pinks, turquoise, green, purple, and red, with extraordinarily fine geometric borders covering her dress and the architectural form around her.
The dress is especially impressive. Mercado Castillo fills it with layer after layer of hand-painted pattern, creating the effect of embroidered textile in clay. Large flowers project from the sides, while three candle holders rise behind the figure, giving the sculpture the presence of both a Tree of Life and a small ceremonial altar.
Frida Kahlo is a natural subject for contemporary Mexican folk artists because of her strong association with Mexican identity, traditional dress, flowers, animals, and reflections on mortality. Here, Jorge Mercado Castillo transforms her into a Day of the Dead calavera, surrounded by color and ornament rather than solemnity. The result is unmistakably Frida, but interpreted through the exuberant polychrome ceramic tradition of Izúcar de Matamoros.
