Mina Klabin Warchavchik

Mina Klabin Warchavchik (1896 – 1969) was a Brazilian landscape architect

Mina Klabin Warchavchik
Born
Mina Klabin

1896
Died1969
NationalityBrazil
OccupationLandscape architects
Known forLandscape design, use of native tropical plants
SpouseGregori Warchavchik
Children2
Casa da Rua Santa Cruz, Mina Klabin Warchavchik's native Brazilian gardens added character and excitement to the modernist buildings designed by her husband.

known for designing modern and abstract gardens composed of plants native to Southern Brazil. She created gardens surrounding homes designed by her husband, Brazilian modernist architect Gregori Warchavchik.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

Biography

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Family history

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Mina Klabin was the eldest daughter of Bertha Obstrand and Maurício Freeman Klabin [pt], a Lithuanian-Jewish immigrant who fled the Russian Empire.[9] Her father had purchased property in Lithuania despite a decree from Czar Alexander III barring Jews from owning any land.[10]

After being outed to the authorities he and other Jewish refugees made a long journey on foot to one of the Baltic ports, where he escaped to Britain. He later left for Brazil in search of better opportunities.[9] Soon after his arrival in São Paulo, Freeman Klabin began working  in a book making factory which he would later come to own. After reaching financial stability, Klabin was able to bring his then fiancé Bertha Obstrand and the rest of his family to join him in São Paulo. The Klabins would become a prominent São Paulo family, founding the stationery and supply company Klabin Irmãos & Cia.[9]

Childhood

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Casa da Rua Santa Cruz, the home designed by Gregori Warchavchik and landscaped by Mina Klabin.
 
A cactus garden designed by Mina Klabin at Casa da Rua Santa Cruz.

At an early age, Mina Klabin displayed talents for learning languages, music and painting.[9]

Landscape design

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Klabin is credited with celebrating native tropical species such as agaves, mandacarus and cacti.[9][11] She created landscapes alongside the eight São Paulo homes designed by her husband, which include Casa Modernista, Rua Itápolis, São Paulo and their own home Casa da Rua Santa Cruz.[12] The Casa Modernista is considered the first modern building in Brazil.[13] She has been credited with helping to establish the cactus as an icon of modern Brazilian design.[12] Her work with tropical plants has been described as the beginning of the Brazilian Tropical Garden movement. Klabin's use of cactus was several year before Juan O'Gorman did in the design for Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo.[14]

Other achievements

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Mina Klabin Warchavchik and Gregori Warchavchik were among the early supporters of the São Paulo municipal theater.[15]

References

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  1. ^ Tarsila, sua obra e seu tempo
  2. ^ O espetáculo da cultura paulista: teatro e TV em São Paulo, 1940-1950
  3. ^ Pioneiros e empreendedores: a saga do desenvolvimento no Brasil, Volume 2
  4. ^ O Museu Lasar Segall na década de 70: da contemplação estética à Casa de ...
  5. ^ Azaléias e mandacarus: Mina Klabin Warchavchik, paisagismo e modernismo no Brasil
  6. ^ Museu Lasar Segall e Casa Modernista guardam história da família Klabin Archived 19 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Coleção Ensaio, Edição 13
  8. ^ Hugo Segawa. Architecture of Brazil: 1900-1990, books.google.com. Accessed 13 March 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d e vivem, Redação CHKSomos apaixonados por comunicação e pela Chácara Klabin Acreditamos que moradores unidos têm o poder de transformar o bairro e a cidade onde (5 April 2016). "Museu Lasar Segall e Casa Modernista". CHK (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Mina Klabin Warchavchik | Tag | ArchDaily Brasil". archdaily.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Clássicos da Arquitetura: Casa Modernista da Rua Santa Cruz / Gregori Warchavchik". ArchDaily Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). 3 August 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  12. ^ a b Mazza Durado, Guiherme (1 December 2001). "Prelúdio do paisagismo moderno no Brasil". Paisagem e Ambiente – via Universidade de São Paulo.
  13. ^ Segawa, Hugo; Segawa, Hugo (2013). Architecture of Brazil, 1900-1990. New York, NY: Springer. ISBN 978-1-4614-5430-4.
  14. ^ Carranza, Luis E.; Lara, Fernando Luiz (2014). Modern architecture in Latin America: art, technology, and utopia. Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long series in Latin American and Latino art and culture. Austin: University of Texas press. ISBN 978-0-292-75865-0.
  15. ^ Lessa Mattos, David José (2002). O espetáculo da cultura paulista: teatro e TV em São Paulo, 1940-1950.