Exhibition Review by Dr. Suneel Mehmi. Images courtesy of the Saatchi Gallery with permission granted to reuse. An inspiration for the ages and a fount of creativity, flowers have been the originating force, subject and detail of the masterpieces of all cultures. A colossus of endeavour and love, the flower exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery …
In our latest review, Dr Suneel Mehmi praises an exhibition of porcelain art that blends Chinese and Western styles. The artist, inspired by nature, has created both monumental abstract pieces and smaller, more detailed works. Expressions in Blue – Monumental Porcelain by Felicity Aylieff Kew Gardens, London An astonishingly beautiful collaboration of Western art with …
Long associated in Western art history, women’s bodies and flowers often share a symbolic connection. This association is explored in a unique religious rendering in “Tears of the Theotokos.” Representing the Virgin Mary, lilies are placed on the cross, symbolising themes central to Christian theology. In Christian art, the lilies often stand for the Immaculate …
In her series, Dancing Tulips, the flowers resonate with Irina’s ‘deep longing for nature’s embrace‘. And, rather than an attempt at realism, Irina uses ‘shapes to evoke emotional connections between nature and the inner self‘. In Contrast Thoughts, the sombre blues jostle with the purity of the whites. Blue is traditionally a colour for …
Katiemo’s pictures are a modern update on Flower Power: promoting peace and love, as well as the psychedelic and carefree with the glorious colouration. Flower Power emerged as a protest against the Vietnam War, with its art and symbolism permeating the counterculture of the late 1960s. With flowers on their clothes and in their hair, …
At the recent Essex Art Club exhibition, I came across Anna Bisset’s charming and evocative acrylic flower paintings, along with the artist herself. I had the advantage of the artist’s presentation as I was introduced to the images. Anna told me that the flowers had been arranged and done in memory of her mother passing …
From the 17th-century Dutch masters who immortalised tulips in their still-life paintings to Jeff Koons’ contemporary sculpture “Bouquet,” tulips have long captivated Western artists, serving as a creative inspiration across centuries. These flowers, emblematic of both beauty and transience, have been depicted in various forms, reflecting the cultural significance they hold in Western art. Shakera …
Marc Quinn’s ‘Light into Life’ is an absolutely EPIC, erudite, educational, elevating, essential experience for the modern age. For lovers of plants and art, for lovers of the necessary transformation to set the world to rights, this exhibition is a must. As the climate crisis testifies, we are disconnected from nature. This alienation from the …
Acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest botanical gardens, and set against the eastern slopes of Cape Town’s Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden has provided the title for the paintings of Gavin Jantjes known as the Kirstenbosch Series (2023). The gardens emphasise the cultivation of indigenous plants for all South Africans, so the implication …
Plant Curator likes a botanical Google Doodle and you can in fact search the whole library for ones inspired by Plants & Flowers. Some of our favourites, shown below, are those that celebrate both plants and women together. 13 November 2022 Botanist and librarian Mary Ellinor Archer 27 July 2020 French botanist and explorer …