From manicured beds filled with native and exotic plants to a thriving community garden, the Houston Botanic Garden is a lush oasis nestled within the city. Opened in the fall of 2020, the garden’s 132-acre grounds, surrounded by the Sims Bayou, are now host to Kristine Mays’ sculptural installation Rich Soil.
Created as a way to pay homage to those who have come and gone before, Rich Soil consists of 29 life-size sculptures grouped into seven clusters located across the garden’s Global Collection, Culinary Garden, Woodland Glade, and Bayou Oaks. Each sculpture, resembling a human form, is made up of thousands of wire pieces looped together with pliers by the artist’s hands.
Houston Botanic Garden
Open Sun-Fri 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sat (June-Aug) 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
1 Botanic Lane, Houston, 713-715-9675; hbg.org/series/rich-soil
“The steel wire offers both a way to express the physical form of a person while at the same time expressing the human condition of perseverance and resilience, boundlessness and freedom,” says Mays, a San Francisco native who has been exhibiting her work since 1993.
Mays’ installation draws inspiration from the dance work Revelations by the late choreographer Alvin Ailey, a native Texan born and raised in Rogers, a small town located in Bell County. Revelations, performed to spirituals and song-sermons, debuted in 1975 as a tribute to African American heritage. The artist was particularly fond of the dancers’ movements as well as their collective presence and power, reflecting both sentiments throughout Rich Soil.

While the installation has traveled around the United States over the past few years, the Houston iteration, which marks its Texas premiere and is on view through the end of summer, is unique. “We were able to place the work in such a way that it created a path for visitors to explore the expanse of the garden’s grounds while experiencing the contemplative nature of the artwork,” Mays says. “Within the beauty and complexity of the flora and fauna lies many stories of Texas history that complement the story behind Rich Soil.”
Mays hopes visitors leave seeing the world in a new light. “Whether you dive deep into the narrative of the show or simply take in the extraordinary shapes and curves of bodies dancing among vegetables,” she says, “my hope is that it will spark excitement within you.”