Beatriz Milhazes: Santo Antonio Albuqueque.

Several of the main galleries upstairs at PAMM have been transformed into a semi-abstract botanical garden, thanks to more than 40 works created over the last 25 years from Brazilian painter Beatriz Milhazes. Her exhibit is, in fact, titled that, Jardim Botânico, although it also is a nod to her Rio de Janeiro neighborhood.

The luscious blooms in this garden are planted on huge canvases, brilliantly colored in acrylic and in her unique layered and transfer process. But these are not literal landscapes, they are swirling, bursting images that can’t help feel like wild vegetation, but are not that distinct. They really are studies in vibrant colors and geometric shapes, yet with the overall effect of canvases and wood cuts you almost can smell, like in a garden.

But botanical gardens are more specific than those of yards or parks; they have a scientific purpose as well, a place to study particular plants and organisms. And each Milhazes piece will pull you in, studying closely what makes up these works contained little worlds. Dissected, you see that “organisms” can include jewels, lace, hearts, arabesque flourishes, circles and lines, all in outlandishly bright colors, that as a whole still look like a bouquet. While falling loosely within the abstract camp, with influences of Pop art, Milhazes’s precise, detailed collaged paintings can’t be categorized so neatly.

The Brazilian heritage, however, is clear. No, not all Latin art needs to be tropical colorful clichés, but Brazil’s history of costuming (Carnival), vibrant dance music, unique cultural cross-pollination and indeed its awe-inspiring nature do leave a mark on those raised within that world.

This is the first U.S. survey of Milhazes’s work, and it includes not just the eye-popping large canvases but also prints. It is organized by the museum, which gathered the works from a wide variety of international collections and museums. There are also three new pieces premiering in the exhibit. Starting off the year with Ai Wei Wei and book-ending 2014 with Milhazes, we’re getting a good sense of the variety of international art that PAMM is striving to offer.

“Beatriz Milhazes: Jardim Botânico” runs through Jan. 11 at PAMM, 1103 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; www.pamm.org.