Selby Gardens’ Butterfly House to Be Part of Dalí Exhibition

Something new will be flying into Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota, Florida, during the Salvador Dalí: Gardens of the Mind exhibition. As part of the gardens-wide transformation during the exhibit taking place Feb. 9-June 28, 2020, Selby Gardens will erect a butterfly house filled with Florida native butterflies and plants.

In the butterfly house, garden guests will be surrounded by colorful butterflies and their favorite flowers while they learn about the butterfly life cycle. Butterflies were one of Dalí’s favorite symbols. The winged creatures exist in nature in an enormous variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and patterns and often serve as representation of change, metamorphosis, endurance, hope, journey, and even life itself.

In two of the works by Salvador Dalí that will be on display in Selby Gardens’ Museum of Botany & the Arts, a rose sprouts butterfly wings and a pair of delicate butterflies adorn an Adam and Eve tableau.

“Salvador Dalí: Gardens of the Mind will explore Dalí’s work through the lens of a botanical garden, illuminating how nature played a vital role in his art,” says Jennifer Rominiecki, president and CEO of Selby Gardens. “We look forward to welcoming our guests into an immersive world inspired by Dalí’s imagination, where the playful and unexpected take center stage.”

            The natural world fascinated the Surrealist artist, and the butterfly house will be just one of the ways that Selby Gardens explores that source of inspiration throughout its outdoor spaces during the exhibition. Inspired by Dalí’s bold blending of the expected and unexpected, floral and plant displays in the gardens will pay homage to other key motifs in the artist’s work, such as eggs, eyes, crutches, and mathematical concepts.

            Selby Gardens will also present Dalí-themed lectures, performances, family programs, special tours, school curricula, and additional programs that complement the exhibition. A full schedule of events will be available at www.selby.org. Admission to Salvador Dalí: Gardens of the Mind is included with all-access admission to Selby Gardens at $25 for adults and $15 for children ages 4 to 17 (free for members).

Salvador Dalí: Gardens of the Mind is the fourth installment of the popular Jean and Alfred Goldstein Exhibition Series at Selby Gardens, which explores the rich connections between nature and the arts. It is curated by Dr. Carol Ockman, Ph.D, Robert Sterling Clark professor of art emerita at Williams College. Past exhibitions have focused on Marc Chagall, Andy Warhol, and Paul Gauguin, with unique garden design elements that connected the outdoor gardens to the indoor displays of art.

The Goldstein Series is part of Selby Gardens’ Living Museum® model implemented in 2015, which has aimed to diversify revenue sources and resulted in the retirement of more than $2 million in debt, along with reinvestment in the Gardens’ mission of education, horticulture, and botany.

Lead sponsors of the Butterfly House are Bill and Marianne McComb with additional support from Salvador Dali: Gardens of the Mind Major Sponsors Kathy and Travis Brown.