This magnificent exhibition spans over two floors and nine major galleries is packed with amazing works of art inspired by flowers. From show stoppers like the Fleur Morte by Rebecca Louise Law featuring over 100,000 dried flowers to Dame Vivienne Westwood’s flowery couture pieces, there is a huge variety of art pieces on display for visitors to explore and contemplate.
The beauty of flowers and their strong presence in all aspects of our lives has, throughout history, inspired artists, writers and creatives. Flora is at the heart of our culture: we gift them to our loved ones and we never miss an opportunity to parade them when celebrating life’s achievements. Flowers make us happy, they help us commemorate death, we paint, photograph, adorn our bodies and our environment with their image, scent and colour.
But most of all, flowers inspire us, and this event is a great opportunity to see how artists continue to evoke the power and beauty of flora to convey a multitude of messages and meanings.
The exhibition is divided into specific sections, each exploring different creative themes and media. This is a beautiful journey through all forms of art that shows how painters used flowers as symbols in the Renaissance or through Dutch flower painting, their strong influence in the Arts & Crafts Movement in the 19th century and all the way to modern works created in the last 30 years by established contemporary artists.
Our favourite room is the one dedicated to Flowers and Fashion where we loved how, no matter the fashion style, flowers are always present in what we wear. We loved the floral fashion pieces by Vivienne Westwood and fine and delicate Buccellati jewellery.
Another show stopper is the digital projection space featuring the work of the pioneering French artist Miguel Chevalier. This animated work features a virtual garden that constantly renews and transforms itself. Digital flowers and plants interact with the movement of visitors within the space; they spring on the screen at random intervals, blossom and fade following a dynamic that is repeated ad infinitum.
This joyful event is pretty much like flowers: full of colour, joyful and bursting with fresh and creative vitality. There is much to learn, explore and be inspired by. And, in true Saatchi style, there is also an opportunity to be introduced to artworks by emerging or early-stage artists and their diverse range of styles.
Flowers – Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture is at Saatchi Gallery until 5 May 2025. Tickets from £12. Saatchi Gallery Lates will take place on 28 February, 14 March with further dates to be announced and will feature drawing classes, workshops and creative activations.
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