I'm never very sure why some art society selection panels have been somewhat sniffy about paintings of flowers. I've certainly encountered that view in the past (I think they ranked just above paintings of cats!). I guess this was associated with times when those running societies were somewhat sniffy about the participation of women...
However, anybody doubting the popularity of flowers should have been in Chelsea recently. Absolutely HORDES of people have been to see Flowers - Flora in Contemporary Art and Culture at the Saatchi Gallery (£20 entry or £12 if you like me are pensioner age)
Due to the popularity of this exhibition, pre-booking is strongly advised. Visitors are welcome to turn-up on the day, but may be turned away once the capacity for each ticket session is reached.
I've been meaning to go and see it but wanted to avoid the hordes at the beginning and weekends and holidays - and then forgot that it was supposed to finish on 5th May!
So I scooted along yesterday morning before the hordes wanting to see it before it "finishes" on Bank Holiday Monday.
EXCEPT it's so VERY popular that the exhibition is reopening from 30th May to 31st August 2025.
We’ve been overwhelmed by the incredible response to Flowers. Visitor numbers and feedback have been exceptional, with audiences of all ages sharing feelings of joy, nostalgia, and wonder. We look forward to welcoming new audiences over the summer period, and those returning to enjoy the exhibition again.”
Which means it's on at the same time as the
RHS Botanical Art & Photography Show for those who really like flower paintings!
About the Exhibition
It's very much a mulit-media exhibition - examining all the different ways flowers have been presented in visual culture and artefacts.FLOWERS spans a wide array of media – including large-scale installations, fine art, photography, sculpture, fashion, film, literature, and music – offering a multifaceted exploration of the flower as artistic and cultural muse. The exhibition invites visitors of all ages to engage, learn and reflect on their personal response to flowers, with each section of the exhibition revealing different instance of flora through art, culture and our everyday lives.
It's a very curious exhibition. I'd love to be certain about the business model behind it - which I think I've worked out. Let's just say there's an element of commercial which is not very evident unless you observe and take a little time to think - and read a few exhibit labels.
Anyway, back to the exhibition.
I was glad I went. I saw some things I've never ever seen before.
At the same time I also saw some art I hurried past and would be happy to never see again.
Some names were new to me - and I'm glad to have found them out
Some names which one might expect to see there were absent. I'm guessing those in charge of the artwork were not collaborating (eg how could you have a photography exhibition without Karl Blossfeldt. Apparently you can - you get Blossfeldt imitators instead!!).
The names of SOME of the artists are listed on the main page for the exhibition on the Saatchi website - I suspect these are where there has been commercial support for the exhibition.
However not all artists are listed which I thought grossly unfair to those who were not (eg all the artists who have contributed paintings of plants via the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society - and donated these to the Chelsea Physic Garden. CPG got a call out - but none of the artists did.)
The Rooms
The exhibition is on two floors and organised by themes which are as follows.
The first sentence - in bold - is the official explanation. What follows is me.
The Entrance / Stairs: Greeting visitors at the entrance is Journey of Progress, a monumental 50m² mural by British artist Sophie Mess. Spray-painted over nine days along the height of the Gallery’s stairwell, the work is a symbolic meditation on growth. - Well I do lifts not stairs so this was a bit lost on me in terms of walking up next to it. However I did get to admire it from the first floor looking down at it.
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| Sophie Mess with her artwork spray painted up the stairs |
Room 1: ROOTS explores the rich history of artists depicting flowers, from the Renaissance to the modernist works of the 20th century.
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ROOM 1 - the Van Gogh on the left has been sprayed/painted on to the wall.
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- It looked like it might start well with a painting by Bosschaert - EXCEPT for the fact that
- it came from a minor museum (Shakespeare Birthplace Trust)
- IT was absolutely filthy and well overdue for a visit to the restorers for a good clean.
- was not by one of my favourites - the wonderful and very famous 16th century painter Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder (who you can see in the National Gallery) - but rather by the 17th century Jean-Baptiste Bosschaert (1667-1746) who I've never ever heard of and appears to be fairly low key and essentially a decorative painter
- Some interesting stuff from Sanderson and William Morris - including my bedroom curtains from 40 years ago!
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"Time was" by Sanderson
- and my bedroom curtains 40 years ago |
- one of the best know contemporary painter printmakers was Elizabeth Blackadder RA - but the example in the exhibition is a fairly weak cousin of the type of artwork she normally produced - which was normally more colourful and had more presence. Again it made me feel like this was an exhibition which had scrimped and saved where artwork was not donated. (To see an excellent exhibition of work by Elizabeth Blackadder - see my review of the 2021 exhibition at the Garden Museum - Elizabeth Blackadder - Favourite Flowers)
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Poppies (2005-2006) by Elizabeth Blackadder
hand coloured etching
courtesy of Falkirk Museum |
- there was quite a bit of translation of famous paintings into mega versions of the art - from the Van Gogh Irises on the side wall to Botticelli's La Primavera on the end wall. I'd be interested to know whether these are spraypainted or decals or maybe both.
- Plus some bronze chrystanthemums
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| Van Gogh paintings translated into other media |
Room 2: IN FULL BLOOM showcases works by established contemporary artists from the past 40 years, demonstrating how flowers continue to inspire in the modern age. - It was full on Saatchi - with some big names, including Mark Quinn. I wasn't a fan of his very hard edges around each petal where the tape re the spraying had been removed. I assume "lost and found edges" is not something he's familiar with. I think this was when I realised that some of the artwork in the exhibition is for sale - which was when I started pondering on the business model....
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| a very large artwork covering the end wall by Mark Quinn |
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Six prints by Michael Craig-Martin RA
Screenprint on Somerset Satin White 410gsm paper |
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| Room 2 - which also includes spoon flower sculptures and Jeff Koon's flower puppy |
Room 3: FLOWERS IN FASHION explores the enduring relationship between flowers and fashion - (I skipped throight this one pretty fast as it's not really something which interests me).
- However, I gaped at some of the very decorative plant tattoos adorning various bodies and hurried through. I couldn't quite work out whether there was a critical association with larger ladies ie. does fat make big tattoos easier to do?
artists like Daniel The Gardener merge fashion with "living art" through tattoos
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| the tattoed ladies |
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The Photography and Sculpture Gallery
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Room 4: FLOWERS IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND SCULPTURE features contemporary photograpgers and sculptors, capturing moments of beauty in two and three dimensions. - For me, there was only one question, WHERE was Karl Blossfeldt? I kept expecting him to turn up but he just didn't. Just some who were trying to be like him.
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| Photos not by Blossfeldt |
- I liked some of the photographs more than I expected - but I've seen MUCH better exhibitions of plant photography in other shows. It felt more like up and comings rather than experienced and adept.
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| In terms of presentation, this jars a bit for me |
Room 5 is a stunning 2,000 sq ft gallery entirely dedicated to LA FLEUR MORTE, a bespoke installation by internationally renowned artist Rebecca Louise Law.
- HOWEVER......frankly her dried flowers and plants falling from the ceiling now seem to be very old, very much less colourful and very much less interesting than those I saw in her exhibit in Gallery 3 at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens back in 2017 (this post includes a pic which illustrates what I mean). Overall, this exhibit - compared to my clear memory of the last one I saw - just looked very tired. I rather think it involved a tight budget.
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very brown dried flowers
nothing like as impressive as the previous exhibit I've seen of her work |
Room 6: FLOWERS IN MUSIC, FILM, AND LITERATURE highlights the role of flowers as symbols and motifs across these different media. - This was truly fascinating. I'd never realised before what an enduring motif flowers have been on vinyl covers of the past, film adverts and the books covers past and present.
Room 7: MIGUEL CHEVALIER, EXTRA-NATURAL is a generative and interactive virtual reality installation, bringing virtual flowers and plants to life across 70 square metres while interacting with visitors’ movements.
- This one was very innovative and intriguing and made me walk backwards and forwards in front of it to see what happened. I am sure children will absolutely love it! There was however a distinct feel of "Dayglo Day of the Triffids" about it.
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| My photo: Dayglo Day of the Triffids was my name for this room |
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| The press photo of the same room |
Room 8: SCIENCE: LIFE OR DEATH. In collaboration with the Chelsea Physic Garden, this room explores the scientific aspecgs of flowers, highlighting their medicinal and poisonous properties, as well as the mathematical principles behind natural floral phenomena.About The Saatchi Gallery
This is what Saatchi's Press people have to say about the Gallery
Since 1985, Saatchi Gallery has provided an innovative platform for contemporary art. Exhibitions have presented works by largely unseen young artists, or by international artists whose work has been rarely or never exhibited in the UK. This approach has made the Gallery one of the most recognised names in contemporary art. Since moving to its current 70,000 square feet space in the Duke of York’s Headquarters in Chelsea, London, the Gallery has welcomed over 10 million visitors. The Gallery hosts thousands of school visits annually and has over 6 million followers on social media. In 2019 Saatchi Gallery became a registered charity, beginning a new chapter in its history.
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