Exhibition "Burle Marx: Plants in Motion"

The exhibition presents an introductory selection of the landscape work of Robert Burle Marx and his collaborators, focusing on the use of certain plant species. Burle Marx became known for creating tropical landscapes based on observations he made in situ, on expeditions throughout Brazil and on international trips to recognize the vegetation of each place, always accompanied by a group of botanist friends, architects, artists and gardeners, in addition to the team of landscape designers from his office. Thus, he used native plants at a time when the tradition was to import plant species from outside the country to design green areas according to traditional French and English models.

However, Burle Marx never applied these principles in a sectarian way, incorporating exotic tropical species into many of his gardens that adapted well to specific local contexts. In this sense, the landscape artist combined the reversal of the stigmas of a colonized country with the incorporation of exogenous elements, in a clearly cosmopolitan attitude that can be associated with the rejection of fixed conceptions of national identity. Thus, by establishing an association between plants and human beings, or between nature and society, we propose, in this exhibition, an approximation between the aesthetic and cultural legacy of Burle Marx and certain progressive principles of Jewishness, linked to the diaspora and the creation of identities defined by constant movement.

In this exhibition, we transcend the merely sequential presentation of the landscape compositions of Burle Marx and his team, and seek to illuminate the relationship between certain projects—both public and private—and the recurring presence of specific plant species, reconstructing a basic lexicon with which the landscape architect always worked collectively.

“The purpose of holding this exhibition in this space is to broaden the understanding of Burle Marx's legacy by proposing a rarely revisited perspective on his work: his Jewish heritage. At the invitation of the MUJ, researcher and artist Daniel Jablonski investigates how this relationship, transmitted through his father, is inscribed in a less visible dimension—but one that permeates his way of being in the world. This perspective resonates with the museum's understanding of Jewish experience as part of a broader history of migrations, crossings, and multiple forms of continuity.”

Marilia Neustein

Executive Director of the Jewish Museum of São Paulo

“Over seven decades, Roberto Burle Marx and his collaborators amassed a landscape collection of more than 150 items, encompassing urban planning projects, studies, sketches, drawings, photographs, documents, publications, works of art, and other materials. Founded in 2019 as a civil society organization, the BMI (Burle Marx Museum) is the result of the initial commitment of the current partners of the Burle Marx Office to preserve, disseminate, and reinterpret the legacy of concepts and achievements that this historical archive brings together.”

Isabela Ono

Executive Director of the Burle Marx Institute

Service
Exhibition | Burle Marx: Plants in Motion
From April 30th to August 02nd
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday from 10:00 AM to 18:00 PM