Gardens by the Bay has launched Impressions of Monet, an exhibition celebrating the gardens and art of Claude Monet, the renowned French Impressionist painter.
Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat officially launched the exhibition yesterday.
This exhibition, held in the Flower Dome, combines a stunning floral display with an immersive digital experience, marking a first in the venue’s history, whereby the horticultural and the digital meld together as one showcase. At more than 2,650 sqm, it is more than three times the size of a regular floral display and returns great value for money to fully immerse into the world of Monet.
“Claude Monet is an artist who holds special significance for a garden like us – as much as he was a master artist, he was also a passionate gardener who translated his love for plants into his famous paintings. As a show garden, Gardens by the Bay is in the unique position where we can bring out the beauty of Monet’s lovingly curated gardens and combine this horticultural experience with a complementary digital one through our collaboration with NEON. Collectively, we hope this will amplify Monet’s life and artworks for new audiences in a refreshing way.” Shared Gardens by the Bay CEO Felix Loh.
Impressions of Monet: The Garden
The floral display, Impressions of Monet: The Garden, recreates the vibrant landscapes of Monet’s gardens in Giverny, France, as they would appear at the peak of summer.
You get to stroll through recreations of iconic scenes such as water lilies floating on a pond and beds of blue delphiniums and purple foxgloves. This display features over 18,000 plants across 40 species, closely mirroring Monet’s original garden palette.
Highlights include a replica of Monet’s pink house and rooms like his kitchen, dining room, and salon.
The display also features eight varieties of water lilies sourced from the same nursery Monet used, marking their debut in the Flower Dome.
Impressions of Monet: The Experience
Complementing the floral display is Impressions of Monet: The Experience, an immersive exhibition adjoining the Flower Dome. This multi-sensory experience features changing lights, digital projections, classical music, and nature-inspired scents, bringing Monet’s life and art to life in a dynamic and engaging way.
Key spaces within the experience include:
Vivid Dreams: Introduction to the Impressionism movement and its key figures.
Night at the Lily Pond: A dreamy night landscape with projected images of wisterias and water lilies.
Immersive Gallery: A stunning display of Impressionist works accompanied by classical scores and nature-inspired scents.
We recommend visiting the Garden first, followed by the digital Experience to best enjoy the showcase. Then, if you feel like experiencing the physical scent and sight of the flower displays again, head back to the Garden again before you head out.
We love how everything came together as one experience cohesively, bringing us into the world of Monet and the Impressionist movement, accessible even to non-Arts students or practitioners. I can spend hours sitting in the Lily Pond or Immersive Gallery areas, just soaking into the atmosphere, transporting myself back to France during the Impressionist period, with memories of the Garden, still fresh in my senses. Lovely.
Impressions of Monet: The Garden will be open until 17 September, while Impressions of Monet: The Experience will continue for a limited period. Singapore residents enjoy complimentary entry to Impressions of Monet: The Experience from Mondays to Thursdays with a Flower Dome ticket purchase.
For more details, visit Gardens by the Bay’s official website.
