Sophie Mess - Burst, 2025
"There are always flowers for those who want to see them." - Henri Matisse
The depiction of flowers in art and design has a long history. Blooms and blossoms have fascinated artists for centuries whether they be stylised lotus flowers in Egyptian antiquity, millefleur in medieval tapestries and paintings such as Botticelli's Primavera, Dutch still life and memento mori paintings, William Morris's 19th century floral fabrics and wallpaper designs, Van Gogh's iconic Sunflower paintings, or Georgia O'Keeffe's semi-abstract blooms, they all signify the enduring allure of flora. It is a subject broached on these pages before in a small scale exhibition devoted to the rose as a motif in art and design (here). This exhibition at Saatchi Gallery though is a large, wide-ranging survey of the historical significance of flowers and of how they continue to inspire modern and contemporary artists set over 9 of the gallery spaces. The exhibition covers a lot of ground featuring a variety of disciplines including painting, sculpture, fashion, film, graphic design, literature and science. It was a bit of an overblown affair which could have certainly done with some stricter editing by the curators, or the loans of more significant artworks on the subject because of the numerous gallery rooms they had to fill. I guess the curators were trying to be as comprehensive as possible. They were obviously never going to get the original painting of Sandro Botticelli's Primavera for the exhibition, but displaying a large-scale print of it on a gallery wall just seemed like a bit of a cop out, as does the inclusion of a print of Jeff Koons's Puppy, a massive dog sculpture covered in over 60,000 blossoming flowers. These quibbles aside though, there were several artworks present by well-known artists such as Andy Warhol, Alphonse Mucha, Winifred Nicholson, Alex Katz, Christo, etc. as well as a few highlights by designers in other disciplines which enthusiastically embraced the theme. Visitors to the exhibition are greeted by an impressive, colourful mural of flowers in bloom by artist Sophie Mess and another equally colourful spray painted work by her inside the entrance. The most show-stopping of the displays was definitely the room containing Rebecca Louise Law's La Fleur Morte, a huge, immersive installation of dried flowers suspended from the ceiling which visitors can wander among and take in the scents. The piece explores themes of decay, life and death, and gives one pause for thought in contemplation as well as a sense of awe. Another artwork that stood out was William Darrell's wonderfully hypnotic kinetic sculpture with constantly rotating petals. Anne Von Freyburg's textile piece, Floral Arrangement 1 (after Jan van Huysum Still Life), reclaims female identity and power with sheets of vibrantly coloured threads cascading to the floor which really resembled impasto paint. Other notable mentions go the beautifully delicate pressed flower works by Amy Shelton presented and backlit in a lightbox, the realistic paper flowers and plants by Susan Beech, sculptural floral arrangements made from old cutlery by Ann Carrington, and the wonderfully macabre hybrid plants under glass domes by Emma Witter made from animal bones and teeth. Less successful in my opinion were the galleries devoted to flowers and plants in science, and that of flowers in media such as film, music and literature, by which point in the exhibition it seemed like a case of overkill. Overall this was a really interesting survey of the theme with so many artistic takes and variants on the flower which is a testament to the enduring appeal of blooms.
Flowers: Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture
until 5th May
Saatchi Gallery
Duke of York's HQ
King's Road
London
SW3