Rebecca Louise Law, Calyx (2023). Image courtesy of the artistIn London, an Enormous Exhibition of 500+ Works Roots Out the Creative Seeds of FlowersJanuary 29, 2025Grace EbertIn nature, flowers serve as an essential component of the reproduction process. But for humans, scented blooms are ripe with myriad meanings and symbolism that transcend their biological functions.During Victorian times, offering a bouquet to someone with your right hand indicated a non-verbal yes, while a yellow carnation would reject an admirer. Similarly in art history, wilting flowers rendered as a momento mori remind us of deaths inevitability, and for van Gogh, sunflowers were the perfect stand-in for gratitude.Aime Hoving, Compost (2019). Image Aimee Hoving, flowers by Brigitte Gentis van Dam MerrettA massive exhibition opening next month at Saatchi Gallery cultivates a vast repertoire of works that explores how blooms have become an omnipresent entity in human life and creativity. Flowers: Flora in Contemporary Art and Culture brings together more than 500 photographs, installations, sculptures, archival pieces, and other objects to create a rich landscape spanning millennia.Anchoring the exhibition is an expansive and immersive work of 100,000-plus dried flowers by Rebecca Louise Law. Smaller pieces include Xuebing Dus ethereal photos of flowers in natural light, VOYDERs streaky steam-laden compositions, and lush, vibrant gardens by Faye Bridgewater.Opening in time to usher in spring in London, Flowers runs from February 12 to May 5.VOYDER, In Love with the Idea of You (2024). Image courtesy of the artistKasia Wozniak, Anemoia #7. Image courtesy of the artistSandra Kantanen, Still Life (Flowers I). Image courtesy the artist and Purdy Hicks GalleryXuebing Du, Mother of Pearl (2018). Image courtesy of the artistCarmen Mitrotta, Geometric Leaves. Image courtesy the artistFaye Bridgewater, En Masse (2025). Image courtesy of the artistAnn von Freyburg, Floral Arrangement 1 (After Jan van Huysum, Still Life). Image courtesy of the artistNext article