Review: 'Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art' at Kew Gardens

The new exhibition Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens is very definitely a LANDMARK exhibition of contemporary botanical art - and one woman's dedication and commitment. It's  significant in size and scope and is very impressive to the point of being quite overwhelming. 

​I'm very happy to highly recommend it to all those interested in botanical art and/or watercolour painting and/or plants and nature in general.

The current exterior of the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art

I think it's the first time in the 11 year history of the gallery that the entire gallery has been given over to paintings from The Shirley Sherwood Collection. Normally exhibitions on a theme have been a mix of artwork (and/or other items) from the Kew Collection and the Shirley Sherwood Collection. 

However, this exhibition is rather different. It celebrates

• 30 years of collecting contemporary botanical art - via purchase from galleries, auction houses and direct from artists, commissions and gifts from some artists
• more than 1,000 artworks collected - in what is now by far the largest private collection of botanical art in the world; and
• a new book about the collection! (review to follow tomorrow)

As such this exhibition has a much more personal feel.  It's also organised by geographical area - in terms of where the artists live rather than where the plant comes from - with notes from Dr Sherwood about how she met artists in the different countries - which provides insight into how the collection developed over time.

(Note: It struck me that it would be interesting to see another exhibition - with artwork organised by plant family. I don't think we've had one since The Art of Plant Evolution). 

I've never ever seen so many artworks in the galleries - and one senses from the number of artworks in the exhibition that it's been very difficult to prune the list of artworks that Dr Sherwood wanted to include in the exhibition!

The net effect is that the exhibition is quite overwhelming - meaning it takes quite a long time to get round and do it justice!

Gallery 1: Australasia - Paintings by Paul Jones, Susannah Blaxill, Annie Hughes and Julie Nettleton

This is only an overview. As I was walking around I very quickly decided that it would be absolutely impossible to do it justice in one blog post/review. Over lunch at the Pavilion Restaurant I tried to work out what to do. I've decided to repeat what I did with the lists of the artists whose work is on display - and do each gallery and geographical area in turn.

As a minimum (i.e. there may be more!), I will review each gallery exhibition in turn - one country or continent each week. I'm not quite sure of the order yet - maybe the one I followed as I viewed the exhibition late last week.  For the record:

• Gallery 1 - Australasia
• Gallery 2 - Europe
• Gallery 3 - North America
• Gallery 4 - Latin America
• Gallery 5 - Britain
• Gallery 6 - South Africa and Asia

I hope to be able to add into these reviews some photos of the artists who will be at the private view evening next week.  

Gallery 5: Britain - an impressive wall of green leaves, needles, ferns and tendrils

I was very fortunate that I knew what works were in the exhibition before I walked through the door. That's because I'd been sent the list of artists and artworks in advance. I can tell you that the artworks in the book exceed those in the exhibition.  Even so, there's a big difference between working your way through a list - and then seeing all the artwork from a country or continent there in one gallery!

At the end there is a list of my posts about the artists who have work in the exhibition which I've been posting recently. They're worth a read - there are some very diverse backgrounds!
​

What you need to know when you visit
​

Anybody who is really interested in botanical art will find this exhibition takes a long time to go round.

What I RECOMMEND you need to do is:

• arrive early. At the moment the gallery is only open between 10am and 3pm. If you come in the afternoon, you may find yourself with too little time to get through all the exhibition. (Gates open at 10am - as does the Gallery). 
• allow 2-3 hours to do it justice if you want to study the work
• bring a magnifier with you if you would really like to study artwork where you can't see the hatching or stippling strokes with a naked eye - or even one with glasses! (I'm thinking of doing a list of the artworks where you definitely need a magnifier if you want to appreciate the true extent of the expertise of the artist)
• bring a camera with you - this needs to be one which can take decent photos in low light without using flash (for your personal use only) - although the reproduction in the book is excellent
• give your eyes and brain a rest - take a break in the newly reopened Pavilion Restaurant - and have lunch and/or a cup of tea or coffee
• make sure you buy the book published in association with the exhibition. It records all the artwork in the exhibition - and more by some of the artists. I suspect this was the original "wish list" before the measuring up and working out what could be fitted in was done! You can buy or order the exhibition book from the Kew Shop - currently listed at a special price of £25. Alternatively, the book is also available from Amazon (​The Shirley Sherwood Collection - from Amazon UK and The Shirley Sherwood Collection - from Amazon.com). I think it's worth getting the book before you see the exhibition - particularly if time is limited!

My recommendation would be to arrive between 10am and 11am; spend some time in the exhibition - then buy the book and review the artwork over lunch at the Pavilion - and then go back to the Gallery and go round again. I guarantee you'll notice art you missed on the first way round - or your brain decided to take a break!  What I always notice from going around twice is you really begin to appreciate what are the standout works in the exhibition. We each have our favourites - mine are probably not the same as yours. 

I also recommend going round with a friend who is also interested in botanical art. It's amazing what other people see that you don't - and vice versa!

Gallery 3: North America

Exhibition details
​

Venue: Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art - inside the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Dates: 16 November 2019 – 15 March 2020
Hours: see listing of opening and closing times for Kew Gardens.
The Gallery typically closes at least 30 minutes before the gardens (check timings and note temporary closures)

• Opens 10am every day (except 24th and 25th December when the Gardens are closed)
• Closes 3pm in November, December and up to 4th January
• Closes later during January, February and March - but check times before you visit.

Admission: FREE (with ticketed entrance to Kew Gardens)

Gallery 6: Looking from South Africa to Asia

Blog posts are emailed to you when you
Subscribe to Botanical Art & Artists - News by Email
Your subscription is: ONLY to this blog + ONLY activated IF you verify the link you will receive.

Artists in the exhibition
​

My previous posts - of profiles of the artists whose artwork has been selected for display in the exhibition - are as follows:

• Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art #1: British Artists​
• Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art #2: North and Latin American Artists
• Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art #3: European Artists
• Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art #4: Artists from Asia
• Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art #5: South African Artists
• ​Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art #6: Australasian Artists

Gallery 6: Looking from Asia to South Africa - and beyond