Francesca Leone: Roses | London : Lower Grosvenor Gardens, SW1W 0QP
Current exhibition
Overview
From late May to the end of October 2025, two large coloured copper roses by Italian artist Francesca Leone will be exhibited in London’s Lower Grosvenor Gardens as part of the Westminster City of Sculpture project.
Created using reclaimed materials – sheet metal, industrial scrap – and shaped into forms as delicate as petals, the roses by Leone express the core themes of the artist’s work: reuse of matter, memory, time, and transformation.
The rose, a symbol of London and British identity, is reinterpreted here in sculptural form – a metaphor for beauty that is both resilient and fragile. The copper, treated with oxidation and patinas, offers a vibrant, ever-changing range of colours, responding to natural light and the surrounding urban landscape.
The artist’s work is deeply conscious of environmental concerns: by reusing discarded and industrial materials, the sculptures reflect on today’s ecological urgencies, proposing an aesthetic of regeneration and responsibility. These tow large-scale sculptures offer a mediation on nature and the importance of preservation, reflecting an environmental consciousness that is needed now more than ever in this contemporary age.
Displayed in London’s public space, these roses become poetic and silent presences – signs of a possible nature, regenerated through the artistic gesture. This intervention continues the artist’s path, which for years has explored sculpture and installation, with works exhibited in major museums and public spaces worldwide, transforming humble materials into suspended, evocative visions deeply rooted in time.