From May 16, 2015, the New York Botanical garden is recreating Frida Kahlo’s exotic Mexican home. It will be taking inspiration from her Casa Azul, known as the Blue House, and bringing a piece of Mexico to the Bronx. The garden and studio of the artist will be entwined with elaborate installations and displays of her work.
After the hugely successful 2012 show on Monet’s home, the Botanical gardens are expecting thousands of visitors to come out to experience their latest creation. You can look forward to an all encompassing experience of the Casa Azul, and an intimate look at Kahlo’s connection to her home in Mexico, her art and her inspirations.
During your visit you will pass through blue courtyard walls, and along lava rock paths lined with flowers that showcase a variety of traditional Mexico garden plants. A scale version of the artist’s pyramid has been recreated to house pre-Hispanic art that was collected by her husband, muralist Diego Rivera. The exhibition is also reimagining what Kahlo’s studio would have looked like, giving you a glimpse into the artists create process.
The exhibition will also feature 14 of Kahlo’s paintings, highlighting how the artist’s influences came directly from her environment containing a lot of botanical imagery in her work. The show also exhibits her lesser known still-lifes, as well as works that portray nature in a curiously symbolic way. Pieces on show will include Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (1940), Flower of Life (1944), Still Life with Parrot and Flag (1951), and Self-Portrait Inside a Sunflower (1954).
The gardens won’t just be a beautiful place for people to explore this spring, it will also be a celebration of the colors, energy and sophistication of the Mexican culture as well as a look into how this inspirational artist lived her life and created her work.