With the RHS Chelsea Flower almost upon us we are celebrating a remarkable project that will see the inimitable canvases of Paul S. Brown become an integral feature of one of the event’s most hotly anticipated show gardens.
Designed by Mark Gregory, a five-time gold medal winner at Chelsea, the Savills Garden promises to be a haven where visitors can immerse themselves in a sensory feast. Inspired by the walled gardens of country homes, the stand will be the setting for a Chelsea Flower Show first - a functioning kitchen, with beautiful herb and vegetable plots providing the ingredients for a feast for the Chelsea Pensioners. As Mark enthusiastically shares, "The garden will be a feast both for the eyes and for the palette … one that brings people together to enjoy fantastic food and great times". To decorate a garden and kitchen with such a theme, we can think of no painter’s work more suitable than Paul S. Brown.
The heart of this garden lies in its "edimental" planting theme, where the boundaries between edible and ornamental plants blur harmoniously. By combining these two elements, Mark's design sparks the imagination of a "plot-to-plate" alfresco dining experience. The garden's surroundings serve as a living larder, providing a wealth of foraged ingredients that will be transformed into delectable meals, allowing guests to savour the true flavours of nature.
The idea that the edible can also be aesthetic is central to Paul S. Brown’s still life paintings; sumptuous compositions that blur the line between food and art object. From Sassicaia to Terroir we cannot wait to experience the atmosphere that will come from seeing this innovative working garden framed by Paul S. Brown’s canvases.
It is clear why Mark felt Paul S. Brown’s works were the perfect complement to both the kitchen and the garden, which he has designed to engage all our senses. As you explore its pathways you will be enveloped by a symphony of scents, sights, and tastes that both excites the senses and calms the mind: amidst the formal plantings and curated landscapes one will be able to bask in vibrant colours, breathe in the smell of fresh food, and anticipate the awaiting culinary journey: an intense experience similar to standing in front of one of Paul S. Brown’s masterful artworks.
Paul S. Brown’s compositions are the perfect complement for Mark Gregory’s garden design scheme at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show; both share the same goals of sustainability and consideration within their designs. Wanting the significance of the garden to extend beyond its immediate beauty, Mark hopes that it will transform the way we think about our plants and our relationship with food: integrating productive and ornamental features, treating our green spaces as fruitful, and reconsidering more sustainable and locally focused sourcing practices. These are all aims that deeply resonate with Paul S. Brown whose practice is predicated on going the extra step to source local produce for his paintings, source and prepare his own pigments, and crucially encourage his viewers to see food in a different light.
2023 is the first year that judging criteria at Chelsea will include questions of sustainability and how a stand will be used after the show. Following the show, the Savills Garden will be relocated to be used to teach young people to cook in Nottingham, and Paul S. Brown’s paintings will return to Beauchamp Place to adorn our gallery walls and find new homes. We feel that this collaboration between artist and designer could not have come at a better time and Paul S. Brown will be sharing further insight into his artistic practice by painting live on our stand SR160 at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show next week.
Watch our video to witness the incredible talent of Paul S. Brown, and follow us on Instagram @gladwellsart for exclusive live updates and news directly from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show all next week from Tuesday 23rd– Saturday 27th May.
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