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INthe magnificent Saatchi Gallery in London, a museum of contem- porary art opened in 1985 in the Chelsea district, a vast exhibition analyses the influence of flowers on creativity and human expression.
More than 500 unique works of art and objects from the world of photo- graphy, sculpture, fashion, film, literature, science and music bear witness to “Flower power”.The exhibition presents large-scale immersive installations by Rebecca Louise Law and Miguel Chevalier, works by contemporary artists such as Gillian Ayres, Elizabeth Blackadder, Alex Katz, Gary Hume and Marc Quinn, but also works by young artists with the support of Cazenove Capital and Buccellati.
Since antiquity, flowers have inspired art and the exhibition reveals the very different facets of their representations, both through their beauty and the emotional symbolic power they give off. The exhibition begins with the theme of «Racine» and traces the rich history of floral works since the Renaissance, Dutch painting and the Arts & Crafts movement in the 19th century.
«Bloom» highlights recognized contemporaries before arriving at the illustra- tion of the close links between fashion and flowers.
Viviane Sassen, In Bloom (shot for Dazed & Confused magazine), 2011. © Viviane Sassen. Courtesy Stevenson Gallery, SA