Kunsthal Rotterdam Devotes a Major Cultural-Historical Exhibition to the Motif of the Flower

Flowers are among the oldest motifs in art and at the same time among the most present symbols of our contemporary world. With the exhibition Flowers Forever, on view at the Kunsthal Rotterdam until 30 August 2026, the Netherlands hosts for the first time a comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the cultural history of the flower. More than two hundred exhibits from art, design, fashion and science illustrate how their meaning has changed over the centuries.

The exhibition follows a cultural-historical approach. Flowers appear here not only as aesthetic motifs, but also as carriers of religious symbolism, economic commodities, political signs or elements within complex ecological relationships. In seven thematic chapters, the exhibition traces how closely plants are intertwined with social rituals, emotions and ideas.

Right at the beginning, visitors enter one of the most spectacular installations of the exhibition: Calyx by the British artist Rebecca Louise Law. The work consists of more than one hundred thousand dried flowers arranged into a vast structure filling the entire space. Visitors move through a multisensory environment of scent, colour and texture, an installation that deliberately invites slowing down and contemplation.

The exhibition also shows how deeply flowers are embedded in mythological and religious imagery. In ancient Greek mythology they often symbolise transformation or divine intervention. A well-known example is the myth of Narcissus, whose story not only shaped literary traditions but also gave one of the best-known spring flowers its name.

Another focus lies on the relationship between art and science. Botanical drawings and herbariums from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries demonstrate how precisely scientific observation and artistic representation worked together. A central historical figure is the naturalist Maria Sibylla Merian, whose work Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium from 1705 is also part of the exhibition. The contemporary artist patricia kaersenhout revisits this chapter in her work Of Palimpsests and Erasure. Through large-scale textile works she draws attention to overlooked sources of knowledge, particularly the botanical knowledge of Indigenous and African women that long remained invisible.

Economic aspects are also addressed. In the seventeenth century, during the Dutch tulip mania, flowers became objects of speculation for the first time. The British artist Anna Ridler translates this historical connection between nature and the market into the present. In her video work Mosaic Virus, the growth of a tulip responds to fluctuations in the Bitcoin price.

The political meanings of plants are also explored. The Canadian artist Kapwani Kiwanga addresses the peacock flower in her work The Marias. Its seeds were used by enslaved women to end unwanted pregnancies, a silent act of resistance within colonial systems.

Alongside historical objects, the exhibition also presents works of contemporary media art. The Dutch studio DRIFT shows Meadow, a kinetic installation of mechanical flowers that open and close in a choreographed movement. French media artist Miguel Chevalier invites visitors into a virtual garden with his interactive installation Extra Natural, where digital plants respond to the movements of visitors.

Flowers Forever was initiated by the Kunsthalle München, which realised the project together with Kunsthal Rotterdam. The exhibition is accompanied by an extensive catalogue that further explores the cultural significance of flowers in art and society. The exhibition makes clear that flowers are far more than decorative motifs. They tell stories of faith, power, science, trade and resistance and reflect the complex relationship between humans and nature.

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