Petals
& Proportions
Mexican Modernism at the 2025 NYBG Orchid Show
“I don't divide architecture, landscape and gardening; to me they are one.”
– Luis Barragán
Image credit: Ymblanter, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Inspired by the designs of architect Luis Barragán (1902 - 1988), the 2025 Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden explores the rich, vibrant theme of Mexican Modernism.
Celebrating the juxtaposition of the intricate beauty of orchid blooms and bold, colorful structures, the exhibit intentionally blurs the lines between nature and art.
The abundant displays in this year’s orchid show illustrate how the visual and cultural motifs of Mexican Modernism can be reflected through botanical expression, contrasting modernist aesthetics with organic natural forms.
Throughout the show, the installations connect the colors, shapes, and patterns of the flowers with the visual elements that defined the Mexican Modernist movement that blossomed in the 1920s, following the Mexican Revolution of the prior decade. Flourishing through the 1950s, the movement merged traditional Mexican culture with the innovation of artists and designers including Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Pedro Ramírez Vázquez.
Known for their stunning variety of shapes, sizes, and hues, orchids offer an array of natural forms. In the show, botanicals are arranged to mimic the geometric patterns and saturated hues that defined Mexican Modernism. By intertwining the movement’s vibrant aesthetic, geometric forms, and emphasis on nature with the rich diversity of orchids, the NYBG has created a visually immersive experience.
Arranging orchids in structured, symmetrical ways echoes the bold, clean lines of the movement’s design aesthetic and evokes its vivid palette, from deep oranges and reds to bright yellows and greens. Fiery-red oncidiums, bright yellow dendrobiums, and rich purple phalaenopsis orchids all make appearances, and the effect is a visual feast that recalls the lively hues of Mexican textiles and murals. Traditional tile work is echoed in repetition and geometry of the plants, and the bright colors of pottery and textiles are recalled in the lush botanical installations.
“A garden must combine the poetic and the mysterious with a feeling of serenity and joy.”
— Luis Barragán
Creating a stunning contrast between the tropical beauty of the natural world and human-made design, the show’s installations mimic the flow of organic growth arranged in sculptural forms reminiscent of the contours and shapes of the Mexican landscape.
Thousands of cascading blooms suggest the movement of water and air, while floor displays and archways echo the flow of natural terrain, creating a visual narrative of natural growth and modern design coexisting in harmony.
The Orchid Show: Mexican Modernism runs through April 27, 2025.
All photographs by Superbloom contributor Allyson Montana, unless otherwise noted
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