reviewvancouver, Frida's Garden- Patricia Cassidy

One of the exhibits
Photo: Patricia Cassidy

Monet had his garden, so did Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The Botanical Gardens has built a permanent, outdoor, Frida Kahlo installation Called "Frida's Garden" which opened to the public on October 11.

The previous temporary exhibit Frida Kahlo, Art, Garden, Life was a block-buster success for the Gardens back in 2017, and people came from all over to view, but this exhibit is entirely different as it conveys Frida's vision of her garden at her home in Mexico City, La Casa Azul. This new design feels just like a garden - The area is spacious, with a lot of pathways to walk around, and small rooms or nooks and crannies showing Frida with her animals and pictures of her house in Mexico. In her Mexico City home, Frida had a variety of animals around her constantly so the Gardens have added several sculptures - a goat, a parrot and others throughout the grounds - in their stead, plus some lovely photos of her with her animals to capture the essence of Frida - she loved art, nature, botany, animals and colour.

Frida's Garden
Photo: Patricia Cassidy

Fortunately, a lot of the plants in Tucson grow in Mexico City so Tucson is a natural habitat to showcase her Garden. Part of the exhibit shows her desk with easel and paint supplies so we can visualize her at work. In summary, the beautiful blue walls (painted very specifically to reflect the Blue colour paint of Caza Azul, the numerous plants indicative of her garden, the sculptures, photographs of Frida, and the glorious colors everywhere reminiscent of her Casa Azul home, made for a brilliant and colorful morning stroll through her imagined garden.