Inside Lily Kwong’s ‘Meditative’ Orchid Show
The Orchid Show returns to the New York Botanical Garden in its 20th annual run, this time led by landscape artist Lily Kwong.
“The Orchid Show: Natural Heritage” captures Kwong’s discipline (and ancestral roots) in ancient Chinese garden design principles meant to evoke a “meditative” experience for guests, she said. She is the first woman of color to step into the guest designer post.
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For this exhibit, Kwong drew inspiration from mountainous paintings displayed in her Bay Area childhood home and “mysticism” of wild orchids. The paintings were passed down from her family in Shanghai, and her early run-ins with nature were aided, in part, by her great-grandfather who was an herbalist. She dedicated the show to her 92-year-old grandmother Jeanette Wei, whose given name ironically means “Healthy Orchid.”
Orchids are one of the largest families of flowering plants and the second most diverse plant family in the world. This latest Orchid Show exhibit is on view Saturday to April 23 in New York Botanical Garden’s Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and features anywhere from 5,500 to 6,500 orchids, as in years past.
At the Tuesday press preview wearing a red off-the-shoulder ensemble from her cousin (designer Joseph Altuzarra) and standing adjacent to a sculpted waterfall flush with fuchsia orchids, Kwong is very much materializing her dreams. After receiving her degree in urban studies from Columbia University a decade ago, she went on to complete New York Botanical Garden’s landscape design program, among other accolades.
Given she’s painted her away across New York City landmarks — including the High Line, Grand Central Station and now the New York Botanical Garden — WWD asked what she is eyeing next. Kwong said Madison Square Park (where she’s on the sustainability committee) could be the next landing point for her landscape creativity.
“Their arts program is so iconic and powerful and beautiful, and I’ve always been so inspired by it,” she said. “That would be a real dream for me. I also think something outside of a park concept or outside of where nature is already supported. I was meant to do a big installation along Fifth Avenue right before the pandemic hit, and that was sort of something that didn’t come to manifestation or fruition. I would love to create a different vision for an urban future that is led by landscapes — somewhere that is just considered a full-on New York City thoroughfare.”
Kwong is no stranger to fashion as a former model, and harbors hope for a more sustainable future.
“Any effort is a positive one. We need coalitions, we need large brands to get involved and participate. What you need is intersectional coalitions and approaches that bring in and fold in real experts in ecology or urban agriculture, food justice, so that it’s not just coming from the top-down but there’s so many grassroots leaders and thinkers that have been on the front line of this work for decades.”
Her recent collaborations span Maiyet and Amour Vert, and Guerlain which sponsored the Orchid Show for a second year. (In its conservation efforts, Guerlain has been researching orchids for over 15 years). Recently, Kwong married Nick Kroll, who was among the awestruck ranks of press taking photos at the Tuesday preview.
Taking a pause to reflect, Kwong may actually be looking to the overlooked aspects of city planning.
“There are 22,000 vacant lots in Los Angeles. There are tons of vacant plots as well in New York City, although it feels very populated.…Any brand partner or developer who would mobilize at scale to turn those vacant plots into nourishing plots whether it’s a pollinator garden or source for true rewilding and regeneration or an urban agriculture resource — that is something I’d be interested in.”
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