Floristry inspired by Japanese Art, for Dulwich Picture Gallery
Some events come with a detailed brief and a mood board and a list of references. And then there are events like the annual supporters dinner at Dulwich Picture Gallery, where the inspiration comes from the artwork on the walls.
In July 2024, that exhibition was Yoshida: Three Generations of Japanese Printmaking — the first comprehensive overview of the Yoshida family’s work to be shown anywhere in the UK or Europe.
About the exhibition
The Yoshida family are a remarkable artistic dynasty, and the exhibition spanned landcape and floral printmaking, abstract art, and a site-specific cherry blossom installation by , made especially for the gallery and inspired by the cherry trees in Dulwich Village.
The palette throughout — in the prints, in the photography, in the installation itself — was soft and clean: pinks, whites and blues, with a discipline about space and negative space that felt almost architectural.
The flowers
I knew immediately that the flowers needed to respond to that sensibility. Ikebana — the Japanese art of flower arranging — values structure, restraint and the deliberate use of empty space. I didn’t want to bring a Chelsea-in-full-bloom exuberance into a room asking for something quieter and more considered.
I worked with large focal flowers to give the arrangements presence, then brought in structured anthurium for a clean, almost graphic quality that echoed the graphic nature of woodblock printing itself. Orlaya grandiflora — a delicate white umbellifer with a lacy, open structure — softened the scheme without diluting it. The palette was pink, white and blue throughout, running across more than 80 bowls and vases placed end to end down the length of the table.
The effect, I’m told, was dramatic. It’s one of my favourite things I’ve ever made, and I think that’s because I was working in service of something — the art, the family, the history of that building. The flowers weren’t decoration. They were a continuation of the conversation the exhibition was having.
Why Dulwich Picture Gallery matters to me
I’ve been the preferred florist at Dulwich Picture Gallery for a number of years now, and each annual dinner is different because each exhibition is different. That responsiveness is what makes the work interesting. It requires you to look carefully, to sit with something before you start, to let the creative direction come from somewhere other than your own instincts.
Photography: Dulwich Picture Gallery
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