On my final day in 🇲🇽, I finally found the ineffable experience of color @casaluisbarragan. ⚡️💛 In Mexico, I was on a hunt for color—beyond pretty palettes; I wanted a transcendent experience—the kind of encounter that stops you in your tracks and holds you in a state of wonder. And while the yellow city of Izamal in the Yucatan, with its long De Chirico-like shadows creeping around every corner, offered an aesthetic wonderland, its luminance felt only skin deep. And then came Frida’s Casa Azul, a kaleidoscope teeming with life, but perhaps so much so that it distracted me from the purity of color itself, denying me the sublime experience I had hoped for. Finally, under the mysterious guise of the solar solstice, I found color at famed Mexican architect Luis Barragan’s home and studio (and his final project, Casa Gilardi, nearby; more on that later). It was immediate. Imposing yet comforting, Barragan’s use of color, at times, felt all-consuming like Rothko’s colorfields, while at others, unassuming with Agnes Martin’s quiet confidence. As Barragan puts it, “Beauty is the oracle that speaks to us all.” Is there then an intangible truth in color that our bodies intrinsically understand? Could his ingredients for an ideal space—magic, serenity, sorcery, and mystery—extend into the realms of painting? Now home and back in my studio, these questions swirl around in my head as I’m more inspired than ever by the potency of color. A trip to Mexico City is not complete without stopping at least one of Barragan’s masterful works of architecture. Just make sure you book tickets in advance as they go quickly. You can also try your luck by showing up and hoping for no-shows. (Which I did and got in pretty quickly.) 🤞🍀🌈 #casabarragan #luisbarragan #luisbarragán #architecturedesign #interiors #mexicandesign