This week The Plum Edit visited Beatriz Milhazes’ solo exhibition at the White Cube Gallery in Mason’s Yard.
Milhazes' exhibition blends vibrant patterns and new paintings in an exploration of colour, ornament and Brazilian-European modernist fusion.
Além do Horizonte, transforms the gallery into a colourful and immersive space. Upon entering the upper floor of White Cube Mason’s Yard, guests are immediately absorbed into an immersive sea of colour. Milhazes’ collages are positioned alongside strategically placed mirrors, reflecting the layered artworks throughout the room. The mirrored surfaces duplicate the intricate patterns, creating an illusion of infinite depth and movement that wraps around the viewer. Constructed from repurposed papers, metallic foils, and candy wrappers, the collage pieces showcase tactile precision and meticulous craftsmanship. The interplay between light, mirror reflections, and canvas transforms the architecture of the gallery into an active component of the artwork itself.
Watch our full gallery walkthrough and exhibition feature below:
Milhazes creates a plethora of visual energy that encourages you to wander, reflect and form your own interpretations. We really enjoyed the opportunity to be fully immersed within the artwork.
Descending into the lower gallery space, the atmospheric mood shifts toward clean, gallery-focused focus. The lower room quickly became our favorite area of the exhibition, primarily due to how thoughtfully the spatial lighting was designed to enhance the viewing experience.
Set against the pristine white walls of the lower gallery, the saturated hues of Milhazes' large-scale canvases truly pop. This creates a clean, architectural contrast to the mirrored, reflective journey of the upper floor, allowing visitors to examine the fine brushwork, crisp geometric line work, and complex layering of each painting in detail.
Milhazes draws from Brazilian culture, textile traditions and print design, mixing them with reference from European art history. We loved the use of geometric shapes; as you step closer, more colours and patterns are revealed. The Botanical Mind I quickly became a favourite.
The Botanical Mind I exemplifies Milhazes’ skill in blending natural forms with abstract geometry. Concentric circles, floral motifs, and radiant bursts of tropical colour overlap to create a harmonious, spinning movement across the canvas.
Alongside the monumental paintings, the exhibition features a series of delicate, smaller-scale works. Functioning much like visual notes or intimate studio reflections, these smaller pieces sit comfortably alongside the larger canvases without competing for attention, offering a quiet glimpse into the artist's exploratory process.
The exhibition presents a thoughtful mix of painted and collaged works. The smaller pieces feel like visual notes, moments of reflection that sit alongside the larger works without competing with them.
Beatriz Milhazes’ work occupies a unique bridge between distinct cultural traditions. Rooted in the rich Carioca spirit of Rio de Janeiro, her visual vocabulary incorporates the tropical flora of Brazil's botanical gardens, carnival costumery, and regional folk art. At the same time, her structured geometries nod to Matisse's cut-outs, Sonia Delaunay's color wheels, and Mondrian's grid systems.
By bringing these elements into dialogue within the modern architecture of White Cube Mason’s Yard, the exhibition celebrates the power of cross-cultural abstraction to evoke pure joy and vitality.
Take this as a recommendation from The Plum Edit team: make sure to head over to Mason’s Yard in St. James's to experience this remarkable exhibition for yourself. Whether you are a long-time admirer of contemporary Latin American art or simply looking to recharge your creative spirit in London, Beatriz Milhazes’ Além do Horizonte offers an unforgettable, uplifting journey through colour and light.
