Wednesday, April 23, 2025 – ENJOY THE SPLENDOR OF THE ORCHIDS ASAP

By admin

Last Chance:

The Annual Orchid Show

Soars at the

New York Botanical Garden

Untapped New York

Julia Vitullo-Martin

Wednesday,  April 23, 2025
ISSUE #1432

The vibrant colors of Mexico come to NYC for a unique Orchid Show at NYBG!

Photo Courtesy of New York Botanical Garden

Extraordinary as the New York Botanical Garden’s orchid shows always are, this year’s is unlike anything that has come before. The current exhibit, Mexican Modernism, inspired by the renowned and Pritzker Prize-winning midcentury Mexican architect Luis Barragán (1902-88), is utterly new. It is an unprecedented extravaganza of color, serenity, and flamboyance. Or, as the New York Times says, NYBG  balances “simplicity of conception with opulence of execution.” This weekend is you last chance to see the show!

Guests entering the Orchid Show at the Haupt Conservatory

The simplicity of execution derives from Barragán’s ideas about color, light, nature, and geometric shapes. The opulence of execution lies with the thousands of orchids chosen for their beauty and diversity. The show is installed in three galleries of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory: the main gallery, the Palms of the World Gallery with its reflecting pool, and two additional seasonal galleries. Excellent signs will guide you.

An Explosion of Color Inspired by Barragán

NYBG has chosen a Barragán masterpiece, Gilardi House in Mexico City, as inspiration for the orchid showcase. I toured the house with Fluenz, a Spanish-immersion company which offers tours of the home conducted by the current owner, Eduardo Luque. Luque has maintained it meticulously. Eduardo’s father, Martín Luque, an advertising executive, had agreed in 1975 to let Barragán design the house around an existing jacaranda tree. Fifty years later, the tree continues to thrive in Mexico City, while a replica serves as a star of the exhibit in the Bronx.

The orchid show’s interpretation of Barragán’s jacaranda tree is a fabricated steel sculpture painted blue and adorned with purple and pink orchids. The orange and white orchids planted in the white stucco wall reflect another Barragán principle: flowers can be happy most anywhere, even in seemingly hostile environments.

A sister exhibit of spectacular photographs by Mexican-born photographer, Martirene Alcántara, is in NYBG’s adjacent Ross Gallery. This might seem a distraction from the orchids, but no. NYBG explains in its signage that “Photography was a critical tool to market and sell Barragán’s unique aesthetic. He was keenly aware of creating spaces that were not only tranquil and beautiful, but that also photographed well.” Sadly, much of his work has been demolished, with the result that “a large part of his legacy lives on in the incredible photos that capture his vision.” NYBG encourages visitors to take photos throughout the show.

As visitors walk through the many rooms of the exhibit, they repeatedly encounter the magnificence of the Haupt Conservatory both inside and out. Orchids thrive within, and the NYBG’s glorious planted trees can be seen bursting into bloom through the glass windows.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

OUR 9/11 TREE IN FULL BLOOM AT THE CHAPEL PLAZA

CREDITS

NY BOTANICAL GARDEN

All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.

Copyright © 2024 Roosevelt Island Historical Society, All rights reserved.Our mailing address is:
rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com