This spring, London’s prestigious Saatchi Gallery transforms into a botanical paradise with FLOWERS – Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture, opening on February 12, 2025. Spanning two floors and over nine major gallery spaces, this ambitious exhibition brings together more than 500 unique artworks and objects that explore the enduring influence of flowers across multiple disciplines—including painting, photography, sculpture, fashion, film, literature, and even science.

Flowers have long served as muses for artists, poets, and designers, symbolizing beauty, transience, and deeper human emotions. This exhibition traces their cultural impact from Renaissance paintings and Dutch floral still lifes to the vibrant, modernist interpretations of the 20th and 21st centuries. It showcases works by renowned contemporary artists such as Gillian Ayres, Alex Katz, Elizabeth Blackadder, Gary Hume, and Marc Quinn, alongside a curated selection of emerging talents.

A Multi-Sensory Experience: From Classical Depictions to Digital Innovation
Divided into nine thematic sections, FLOWERS offers a diverse and immersive experience. The opening section, Roots, explores the historical evolution of floral representation in art, from the Arts & Crafts Movement to modernist abstractions. In Bloom shifts the focus to contemporary interpretations, demonstrating how artists continue to be captivated by floral imagery.

Fashion lovers will be drawn to Flowers and Fashion, a room dedicated to floral motifs in haute couture and jewellery, featuring exquisite pieces by Buccellati, one of the main supporters of the exhibition. Meanwhile, photography and sculpture take centre stage in another section, where artists capture the fleeting beauty of flowers in striking two- and three-dimensional forms.

One of the exhibition’s highlights is La Fleur Morte, a breathtaking installation by Rebecca Louise Law, featuring over 100,000 dried flowers suspended in a double-height gallery space. Visitors can walk through this delicate, immersive environment, reflecting on themes of life, death, and preservation. Equally captivating is a large-scale digital projection by Miguel Chevalier, in which virtual flowers bloom and shift in response to visitors’ movements, blending technology and nature in a mesmerizing display.

Flowers in Music, Literature, and Science
Beyond the visual arts, FLOWERS delves into the role of flora in music, film, and literature. A dedicated space features a wall of vinyl records, revealing how floral themes have shaped album cover designs over the past five decades. Meanwhile, literature and cinema sections explore how flowers have been used as metaphors and narrative symbols in storytelling.

The penultimate section, Science: Life & Death, in collaboration with the Chelsea Physic Garden, examines the dual nature of flowers as both healing and poisonous agents. Visitors can explore botanical art and scientific illustrations, including rare orchid studies from the Schroder Collection, shedding light on the intersection of botany and artistic expression.

A Celebration of Emerging Talent
The final room, New Shoots, presents a vibrant selection of works by emerging artists, showcasing fresh perspectives on floral themes in contemporary art. This dynamic space acts as a metaphorical garden, where new artistic voices bloom and compete for the viewer’s attention.

With its diverse array of artworks and installations, FLOWERS – Flora in Contemporary Art & Culture is a must-see for art lovers, nature enthusiasts, and anyone fascinated by the intersection of beauty and meaning. As Saatchi Gallery Director Paul Foster aptly states, “The Gallery is delighted to pay homage to nature and celebrate the manifold ways that artists have been inspired by nature. We invite everyone to step into Spring and aim to put a spring in everyone’s step.”

Cazenove Capital CEO Mary-Anne Daly, part of the Schroder group comments: “We are delighted to support the invaluable work of Saatchi Gallery. Like Cazenove Capital, the Gallery has always focused on protecting an incredible legacy for future generations. We are delighted that Saatchi Gallery has chosen to display the Schroder family’s botanical art collection within the exhibition, which is such a wonderful way to celebrate art, history and culture. We very much hope that all visitors to this wonderful exhibition will enjoy it as much as we have.”