from yinka ilori to miguel chevalier, flower sculptures & digital gardens bloom in london

from yinka ilori to miguel chevalier, flower sculptures & digital gardens bloom in london

flowers — flora in contemporary art at culture opens soon

 

Spring arrives early in London as Flowers — Flora In Contemporary Art & Culture blooms at the Saatchi Gallery. Opening on 12th February, the exhibition gathers 500 unique artworks and objects, tracing the enduring influence of flowers in art, design, fashion, music, literature, and science from past to present. Across nine thematic galleries, each exploring this expression of this subject across various mediums and cultural contexts, the works range from large-scale immersive installations and original paintings to photography and archival objects.

 

Throughout, the exhibition celebrates the ways flora has shaped human creativity throughout history, and how they have endured as symbols, metaphors, and emotional signifiers, deeply embedded in myths, stories, and cultural traditions. Standout works include Rebecca Louise Law’s mesmerizing installation featuring 100,000 dried flowers, alongside the intervention of Miguel Chevalier who transforms an entire room into a digital garden of interactive virtual flora. Among the hundreds of participating artists, artists also include Philip Colbert, Damien Hirst, Yinka Ilori, and Takashi Murakami.

from yinka ilori to miguel chevalier, flower sculptures & digital gardens bloom in london's saatchi gallery
Rebecca Louise Law, Calyx

 

 

over 500 floral artworks bloom at the saatchi gallery

 

Divided into nine thematic sections further distinguished by mediums, Flowers — Flora In Contemporary Art & Culture begins with the section titled Roots. This is a historical exploration of floral depictions and their embedded symbolism from Renaissance masterpieces to the intricate compositions of the Arts & Crafts Movement and modernist reinterpretations of botanical beauty. Ahead, In Bloom highlights the continued fascination with flowers in contemporary art, showcasing works created over the past 30 years by renowned artists such as Gillian Ayres, Elizabeth Blackadder, Alex Katz, Gary Hume, and Marc Quinn alongside emerging creatives.

 

The third room, Flowers and Fashion, explores the perpetual appeal of flora, which has adorned and inspired clothing and accessories, from high-street trends to haute couture. Here, Buccellati’s hand-carved silverware and jewelry take center stage. Photography and sculpture take the spotlight in another section, capturing nature’s fleeting beauty in two and three dimensions.

from yinka ilori to miguel chevalier, flower sculptures & digital gardens bloom in london's saatchi gallery
Rebecca Louise Law, The Womb

 

 

from large scale installations to digital gardens

 

The fifth room is occupied entirely by La Fleur Morte, a bespoke installation created by Rebecca Louise Law. Vast and immersive, it comprises of over 100,000 dried flowers suspended in a double-height gallery, inviting visitors to wander through a suspended floral dreamscape. The exhibition extends beyond visual arts, delving into how flowers have influenced music, film, and literature. Ahead, a wall display of vinyl records reveals the recurring floral emblems that have graced album covers for the past five decades, while literature and cinema sections look at the metaphorical richness of flowers in storytelling. Visitors can also immerse in a digital floral fantasy in the seventh room, Digital Botanica, where an interactive installation by Miguel Chevalier projects virtual flowers and plants that respond to movement across 70 square meters.

from yinka ilori to miguel chevalier, flower sculptures & digital gardens bloom in london's saatchi gallery
Aimée Hoving, Compost, 2019

 

 

The penultimate section, Science: Life & Death, developed in collaboration with the Chelsea Physic Garden, offers a fascinating look at the medicinal and toxic properties of flowers. Featuring botanical illustrations from the Schroder Collection, this segment examines the scientific and mathematical principles behind floral structures, including their role in genetic research and ecological balance. New Shoots concludes the exhibition, showcasing how emerging contemporary artists have been redefining floral imagery through experimental media and unconventional perspectives. This section becomes a rich garden of blooms, promising a fresh and thought-provoking take on an age-old artistic subject.

from yinka ilori to miguel chevalier, flower sculptures & digital gardens bloom in london's saatchi gallery
Viviane Sassen, In Bloom (shot for Dazed & Confused magazine), 2011

from yinka ilori to miguel chevalier, flower sculptures & digital gardens bloom in london's saatchi gallery
Robert Walker, Flora plastica #01, 2020

from yinka ilori to miguel chevalier, flower sculptures & digital gardens bloom in london's saatchi gallery
Aimée Hoving, Het Boeket (from the series Pictures of Her), 2017

from yinka ilori to miguel chevalier, flower sculptures & digital gardens bloom in london's saatchi gallery
Mandy Barker, Hong Kong Soup 1826 – Lotus Garden, 2014

from yinka ilori to miguel chevalier, flower sculptures & digital gardens bloom in london's saatchi gallery
Sandra Kantanen, Still Life (Flowers I)

from yinka ilori to miguel chevalier, flower sculptures & digital gardens bloom in london's saatchi gallery
Martin Schoeller, Jeff Koons with Floral Headpiece, New York, NY, 2013

from yinka ilori to miguel chevalier, flower sculptures & digital gardens bloom in london's saatchi gallery
Carmen Mitrotta, Geometric Leaves | image courtesy the artist

rebecca-louise-law-miguel-chevalier-flower-installations-saatchi-gallery-london-designboom-01

Miguel Chevalier, Extra-Natural, 2024 (1)

 

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Ruud van Empel, Floresta Negra | image courtesy the artist
Ruud van Empel, Floresta Negra | image courtesy the artist
Nadirah Zakariya, All Purpose Flower MCO Day 59, 2020
Nadirah Zakariya, All Purpose Flower MCO Day 59, 2020
Kior Ko, Scent
Kior Ko, Scent
Erwan Frotin, Freesia sp. (from the series Flora olbiensis), 2007
Erwan Frotin, Freesia sp. (from the series Flora olbiensis), 2007
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Miriam Toelke, Flower of yesterday, 2019
Miriam Toelke, Flower of yesterday, 2019
Ann Shelton, The Courtesan, Poroporo (Solanum sp.), 2015
Ann Shelton, The Courtesan, Poroporo (Solanum sp.), 2015
Andrew Zuckerman, Pseudobombax ellipticum 12
Andrew Zuckerman, Pseudobombax ellipticum 12
Caroline Larsen, Superbloom 4, 2024
Caroline Larsen, Superbloom 4, 2024

project info:

 

name: Flowers — Flora In Contemporary Art & Culture

location: Saatchi Gallery | @saatchi_gallery, London, UK

dates: February 12 — May 5, 2025

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damien hirst (39)

digital art (147)

exhibition design (662)

flower and leaf art (164)

interactive installation (343)

miguel chevalier (33)

rebecca louise law (6)

saatchi gallery (11)

takashi murakami (28)

yinka ilori (6)

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