Flowers – Flora in Contemporary Art and Culture
12th February, 2025 – 5th May, 2025
Saatchi Gallery
Duke of York’s HQ
King’s Road
Chelsea, London SW3
The towering stairwell at the Saatchi Gallery is about to burst into bloom. Standing eight meters high, an exuberant cascade of color now climbs the walls, a vibrant prelude to Flowers: Flora in Contemporary Art and Culture, the gallery’s latest exhibition. At its center is Journey of Progress, a newly unveiled mural by British artist Sophie Mess, whose signature floral compositions have redefined urban landscapes from London to Miami.
© Sophie Mess
Mess, known for her large-scale botanical murals, has always found inspiration in nature’s quiet resilience. In Journey of Progress, she charts that growth in paint. The mural begins in hushed blues—soft, tentative blossoms at the base of the stairwell—before rising through bursts of color, culminating in a riot of fiery oranges and yellows at its peak. The gradient of hues is deliberate, a visual metaphor for evolution and transformation. “It symbolizes breakthroughs, those powerful moments of progress,” Mess said of the work, which took nine days to complete.
The mural is a personal reflection on my journey as an artist. So, the piece is all about
progress, suggesting that growth is built over time, piece by piece, and that every
experience is part of a larger journey of developmentSophie Mess
For Mess, the connection between nature and art has always been instinctive. She began painting flowers on city walls while living in London, a subconscious response, she says, to the absence of greenery. Her process is meticulous: she photographs plants, digitally manipulates compositions, and then scales them onto urban surfaces, fusing street art’s immediacy with a refined botanical aesthetic.
“I’m a color fiend,” Mess admitted. “Bright colors energize me, and I love discovering new combinations—whether in nature or in cultures where bold color is celebrated.” That fascination has now led her beyond the paintbrush. Recently, she has begun growing plants for reference, an extension of her creative practice that, much like her art, continues to evolve.
As Journey of Progress welcomes visitors to the Saatchi Gallery’s floral tribute, it stands as more than just a mural. It is a statement on resilience, transformation, and the enduring power of nature—even in the most urban of spaces.
Flowers – Flora in Contemporary Art and Culture opens on the 12th of February, 2025 until the 5th of May, 2025 at Saatchi Gallery
©2025 Sophie Mess
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