“The work began in the Poconos Mountains in Pennsylvania in the summer of 2020. I was painting and a leaf fell on my watercolor – it was a calling. Over the next year, I explored different forests in the USA and Brazil, looking for leaves that could create a wonderful beauty on top of my watercolor, and then took photos of these combinations. That was the inspiration to tell the Ossanhe myth through leaf paintings”, says Castaneda.
The Healing Leaves: The Myth of the Orisha Ossanhe (the Afro-Brazilian divinity of healing and mystery), by Brazilian Artist Luzia Castaneda, is a series of 16 photographs and 21 paintings that explain the Afro-Brazilian myth of two orishas—Ossanhe and Xangô—whom both want to possess the healing powers of leaves.
This exhibition was made possible with public funds from the Queens Art Funds, a re-grant program supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and administered by the New York Foundation for the Arts.
Details
Venue: Queens Botanical Garden (43-50 Main St, Flushing)
Date: October 7 to November 26