WHAT?  Marc Quinn: Light into Life

WHERE?  Kew Gardens, Kew, Richmond, London TW9 3AE

WHEN? Now until 29th September 

WHY GO?  For a walk on the wild side.  Not only do Kew Gardens themselves provide a pleasurable day out, 17 shiny new artworks by Marc Quinn will keep curious visitors lingering longer and coming back for more.

Each of Quinn's monumental sculptures, often sited in surprising places throughout the park, are truly original and reference his artistic respect for the science of horticulture. 

There’s even one, a large bronze bonsai sculpture, centre stage in the magnificent Temperate House.

And it doesn’t end in the grounds, the lauded Shirley Sherwood Gallery boasts an exhibition by Quinn connecting his maverick art with Kew’s botanical science alongside their permanent catalogue of botanical illustrations. 

Marc Quinn is the artist everyone remembers as one of the infamous YBA gang that included Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin, and as ever, he is still controversial. 

He created the provocative Alison Lapper statue for the Fourth Plinth in 2005 and this exhibition shows, though he has mellowed and is not yet a retiring gardener himself, he still likes to create a stir with flowers cast in animal blood and sculptures with provocative names like ‘Burning Desire’.

From giant shiny flowers in stainless steel that allow in which visitors can view their reflections, to floral sculptures with petals that resemble female reproductive organs, it’s enough to baffle the birdlife! Forever pioneering, Kew really does fire the imagination.

IN THE KNOW Digging behind what inspired visual artist Quinn to collaborate with Kew goes way back to his youthful passion for science.  He delved into the Kew archives researching the great Victorian collections of dried flowers which led to his contemporary interpretation of present day Kew plants and flowers.

Discover more on a free walking tour led by Kew experts: check times online.