On my last day in Belo Horizonte, T. Mona took me to
Inhotim, actually in Brumadinho, about an hour and a half away from the city. It was
beautiful. Inhotim is a 5,000 acre
botanical garden and outdoor
contemporary art center founded by Bernardo Paz, a Brasilian mining billionaaire. It started off as a 3,000 acre private collection of plants (the gardens were designed by his friend Roberto Burle Marx), which he then expanded, and eventually began collecting contemporary art. In 2006, it opened to the public.
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| Such a beautiful beautiful place. The pictures don't do it justice. |
We left the city a little after 9:30 and made it to Inhotim in time to catch the English guided tour. The guided tours are free though there's an entrance fee of R$20 (R$ 10 for children, students, senior citizens; free on Tuesdays). We had two tour guides, one who spoke about the plants and the environmental aspects, and another who talked about the art. It was a very interesting tour; the guides were really informative and friendly, and they made the tour very interactive always asking us what we thought, etc.
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| The water came from the nearby river which was brown. Natural blue dye was added to the water to give it the green color. |
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| Curved pathways so you can't see what's ahead; always a surprise. |
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| Pink bananas |
All over the gardens you'll find many sculptures amidst nature. So interesting to see art in nature.
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| Inmensa by Cildo Meireles |
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| Boxhead by Paul McCarthy |
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| Gigante dobrada by Amilcar de Castro |
Inhotim is such a beautiful place (honestly one of the most beautiful places I've visited). I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. It also has the world's largest collection of palm trees.
We stopped for lunch at one of the restaurants; food was served
comida por quilo style.
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| Salads |
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| Meat |
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| Had some salad to feel a little healthier after eating all that meat. |
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| The dessert buffet |
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| I tried everything chocolate looking + a leche flan tasting dessert and doce de leite (dulce de leche) |
Aside from the gardens and the sculptures, Inhotim also has several gallery pavilions which house works by contemporary artists. Most of the permanent pavilions are dedicated to one artist, and there are over two dozen pavilions all around the complex. There are about 500 works from 100 artists from 30 countries. I didn't know a lot of the artists, but the works very interesting. Some of the pavilions below:
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| The gallery of Adriana Varejão, one of my favorites. |
There were also some educational and research centers, like this one for studying herbs:
More art and sculptures randomly spread around the gardens.
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| Beam drop Inhotim by Chris Burden |
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| Dor de cabeça by Edgard de Souza |
This place was truly amazing. The art collection is impressive, fantastic, and admirable, easily enjoyable even if you're not a big fan of contemporary art. Plus, the gardens are beautiful to walk around. I would have loved to spend more time in this amazing place. We were able to see a lot of the gardens and visit many pavilions, but then we had to return to Belo so I could catch my bus to Curitiba. If I ever come back to Brasil, it's definitely a place I'd visit again.
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