A Review of Saatchi Gallery’s Flowers

Where? Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York’s HQ, King’s Rd, London SW3 4RY
When? Until 5th May 2025
How Much? £20
Accessibility? Lifts & Ramps available

As London begins to bloom, so does the Saatchi Gallery, with a vibrant new exhibition featuring 500 artworks that explore flowers through the lenses of art, fashion, and culture. Known for its bold and immersive shows, from Chanel to Bob Marley, Saatchi has set a high bar, and I arrived with equally high expectations. So, did Flowers live up to the gallery’s reputation?

Flower Power

If I am completely honest, I would say the exhibition was slightly hit and miss. There were elements that I absolutely adored, such as a room filled with a hanging canopy of dried flowers you could weave between, sparkling silver sculptures, and an interactive projection that mimicked your movements. Overall, however, it felt a little disjointed, like an unkempt meadow.

The exhibition began by showcasing flowers in art across different mediums and periods, from fabrics and screen printing to lino cuts. One of my all-time favourite artworks, Primavera by Sandro Botticelli, was displayed here in print. However, we immediately noticed how dark and poorly lit the room was, which felt like a slight injustice to many of the pieces on display. Thankfully, this issue did not continue throughout the exhibition, but it was a strange way to start the tour, especially in a room featuring such iconic works, including pieces by Van Gogh.

As you move through the gallery, you will encounter a mix of incredible and occasionally underwhelming contributions. The works of Yayoi Kusama, Andy Warhol, and Vivienne Westwood particularly caught my eye, and I loved exploring how flowers have been interpreted through music, film, and literature. The symbolic value of flowers is something I find endlessly fascinating, especially after studying Plath at university, so I really appreciated how the gallery took the time to unpack that narrative.

Some rooms were beautifully curated, telling a clear story and creating a real sense of journey. However, my main criticism is that the exhibition often felt disjointed. Moving from one room to the next sometimes felt like stepping into an entirely different gallery, without a strong root system tying everything together. At times, it seemed like certain pieces were included just to fill space rather than to build on a cohesive narrative.

For example, Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” was placed rather randomly in the middle of the exhibition, which surely would have made more sense upstairs in the literature section. Maybe I am biased (I work in advertising, after all), but I also felt the show missed an opportunity to explore the connection between flowers and advertising. Given the gallery’s close ties to the industry, it would have been fantastic to see something like Wordsworth’s poem alongside a vintage Heineken ad, or a nod to how modern brands, like Gucci with Miley Cyrus, use floral imagery in their campaigns.

Anyway, I have said my piece!

Worth a Visit?

If you are interested in the intersection between flowers and culture, the symbolic meaning behind flora, and its prominent presence throughout art history, then I would definitely recommend a visit. I must admit that the £20 price tag feels a little steep for what the show offers, but it is not all that surprising for London. I am glad I experienced it, learned something new, and was reminded of the untamed velocity of flowers throughout culture, even if it was not the strongest show I have seen from this gallery.

To be honest, this reflects a feeling I have had for a while about the London art scene in general. Nothing has quite struck me in the same way that older exhibitions once did. I find myself longing for the excitement I felt seeing Damien Hirst’s Mother and Child Divided for the first time, or when I discovered Yayoi Kusama at Victoria Miro.

If anyone has any recommendations for exhibitions that have reignited that spark for them, please leave them in the comments. I would love to check them out!