Flower

‘I like eating cold, clammy wraps from big pharmacies that are open late and sell just a few foods like protein bars and powders.’ Flower is a book of realistic admissions, likes, dislikes, memories and no-brainer observations, treating personal truth as unavailable – something that must be made up and convincing. Taking cues from confessional literature, his daughter’s improvised games, poor internet writing and shitty AI, Ed Atkins, in his first work of non-fiction, equivocates between inanity and divinity, ease and pain, sentimentality and sterility. An anti-memoir, a list, a listless blur – Flower is a highly original, moving and absurd book by one of the most influential artists of his generation, formally inventive and disturbingly of our time.

‘I like eating cold, clammy wraps from big pharmacies that are open late and sell just a few foods like protein bars and powders.’ Flower is a book of realistic admissions, likes, dislikes, memories and no-brainer observations, treating personal truth as unavailable – something that must be made up and convincing. Taking cues from confessional literature, his daughter’s improvised games, poor internet writing and shitty AI, Ed Atkins, in his first work of non-fiction, equivocates between inanity and divinity, ease and pain, sentimentality and sterility. An anti-memoir, a list, a listless blur – Flower is a highly original, moving and absurd book by one of the most influential artists of his generation, formally inventive and disturbingly of our time.

A breathtaking celebration of flowers spanning centuries, cultures, and continents – now available in a compact format Flower invites readers to explore the endless ways artists and image-makers have employed floral motifs throughout history. Now available in a sleek compact format, this critically acclaimed survey showcases more than 300 gorgeous large-scale images representing a range of styles and media – from fine art, botanical illustrations, and sculptures to floral arrangements, film stills, and fabric designs. Curated by an international panel of art historians, museum curators, botanists, florists, horticulturalists, and more, the wide variety of works are each accompanied by a brief, enlightening description. Pages follow a visually stunning sequence, with unexpected pairings that create connection and contrast. Readers will discover van Gogh’s sunflowers next to a twentieth-century photograph, a delicate Victorian-era diamond bodice ornament juxtaposed with a baroque oil still life, and other surprising spreads, making leafing through this book a joy for anyone who appreciates the beauty of blooms. Advisory panel : Lugene B. Bruno, Dr James Compton, Shane Connolly, Anne-Pierre d'Albis-Ganem, Celia Fisher, Susan M. Fraser, Victoria Gaiger, Elizabeth Hammer, Daisy Helman, Catherine Hess, Pascale Heurtel, Dr Lisa Hostetler, Lyndsey Ingram, Professor Dr Hans Walter Lack, Dr Fred G. Meijer, Colleen Morris, Polly Nicholson, Lynn Parker, Anna Pavord, Gill Saunders, Lindsey Taylor, Anatole Tchikine and Betsy Wieseman Additional texts : Giovanni Aloi, Louise Bell, Lugene Bruno, Shane Connolly, Clare Coulson, Louisa Elderton, Celia Fisher, Diane Fortenberry, Victoria Gaiger, Daisy Helman, Pascale Heurtel, Lyndsey Ingram, Hans Walter Lack, Fred G. Meijer, Alison Morris, Colleen Morris, Polly Nicholson, Michele Robecchi, Rebecca Roke, Gill Saunders, James Smith, Lindsey Taylor, David Trigg and Martin Walters

A breathtaking celebration of flowers spanning centuries, cultures, and continents – now available in a compact format Flower invites readers to explore the endless ways artists and image-makers have employed floral motifs throughout history. Now available in a sleek compact format, this critically acclaimed survey showcases more than 300 gorgeous large-scale images representing a range of styles and media – from fine art, botanical illustrations, and sculptures to floral arrangements, film stills, and fabric designs. Curated by an international panel of art historians, museum curators, botanists, florists, horticulturalists, and more, the wide variety of works are each accompanied by a brief, enlightening description. Pages follow a visually stunning sequence, with unexpected pairings that create connection and contrast. Readers will discover van Gogh’s sunflowers next to a twentieth-century photograph, a delicate Victorian-era diamond bodice ornament juxtaposed with a baroque oil still life, and other surprising spreads, making leafing through this book a joy for anyone who appreciates the beauty of blooms. Advisory panel : Lugene B. Bruno, Dr James Compton, Shane Connolly, Anne-Pierre d'Albis-Ganem, Celia Fisher, Susan M. Fraser, Victoria Gaiger, Elizabeth Hammer, Daisy Helman, Catherine Hess, Pascale Heurtel, Dr Lisa Hostetler, Lyndsey Ingram, Professor Dr Hans Walter Lack, Dr Fred G. Meijer, Colleen Morris, Polly Nicholson, Lynn Parker, Anna Pavord, Gill Saunders, Lindsey Taylor, Anatole Tchikine and Betsy Wieseman Additional texts : Giovanni Aloi, Louise Bell, Lugene Bruno, Shane Connolly, Clare Coulson, Louisa Elderton, Celia Fisher, Diane Fortenberry, Victoria Gaiger, Daisy Helman, Pascale Heurtel, Lyndsey Ingram, Hans Walter Lack, Fred G. Meijer, Alison Morris, Colleen Morris, Polly Nicholson, Michele Robecchi, Rebecca Roke, Gill Saunders, James Smith, Lindsey Taylor, David Trigg and Martin Walters