OUT OF THE JUNGLE

A retrospective of Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes opens at New York's Guggenheim.

- GRACE EDQUIST

When I visited Rio de Janeiro recently, I spent an afternoon at the Botanical Garden-home to orchids and bromeliads, giant monsteras, and the grandest canopy of palms you'll ever see. It had just rained, and everything was slick and extra green, like a magical paradise. For decades the 65-year-old Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes has maintained a studio near the gardens. With this tropical flora as her backdrop, and with Brazil's complex past in mind, Milhazes builds up her canvases layer by layer. Embedded in her designs are flowers, fruits, and intricate patterns inspired by traditional textiles and 19th-century costumes. "I think that art, this practice-it's always kind of a mystery," Milhazes says.