Claire Salvo’s Frida transforms a single U.S. dollar bill into a tribute to one of art history’s most enduring icons, Frida Kahlo. Painted in acrylic directly onto the surface of legal tender, the work reimagines the face of power and value through the lens of creative legacy and representation.

Salvo’s meticulous technique and painterly precision breathe life into Kahlo’s image, her vivid flowers and piercing gaze standing in stark contrast to the monochrome austerity of the dollar’s design. The juxtaposition of fine art and currency speaks to themes of worth - both cultural and economic - and challenges the viewer to consider who is immortalized in symbols of power and why.

Both intimate and subversive, Frida encapsulates Salvo’s ability to blend portraiture, symbolism, and social commentary with elegance and intention. It is at once a celebration of female artistry and a quiet act of rebellion - transforming the most ordinary of objects into a vessel of reverence and redefinition.