David Harber at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026
A collaborative garden installation with Hollander Design exploring how sculpture can shape the modern landscape
At RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026, British sculptor David Harber returns with a new garden installation created in collaboration with New York–based landscape architects Hollander Design. Presented as a working garden rather than a purely decorative show space, the stand explores how contemporary sculpture can be integrated into everyday outdoor environments, placing art within the lived rhythms of cultivation, material craft and seasonal change.
“By placing David Harber’s sculpture within a productive, heritage garden, we reconnect art with the traditions of making and growing that once shaped everyday life,” said Edmund Hollander, Founding Partner of Hollander Design.“The garden becomes a living counterpart to the sculpture. Both are rooted in patience, skill, and a deep respect for the materials and process of craft.”
2026 Chelsea Flower Show Render Courtesy of David Harber.
For long-time followers of Harber’s work and at The Fluxx, where we have previously featured his sculptural practice and enduring dialogue with light, reflection and landscape, this Chelsea presentation marks a compelling evolution, grounding his signature forms within a productive, heritage-inspired garden setting.
Reimagining the Garden as Both Practical and Poetic
The design moves away from the notion of sculpture as a final embellishment and instead positions it as part of the garden’s structure and meaning. Inspired by traditional making techniques that parallel Harber’s own artisanal processes, the planting includes woven willow elements, heirloom vegetables, heritage fruit trees and species historically grown for food, medicine and textiles.
This emphasis on craft, patience and material knowledge reflects a shared philosophy between sculptor and landscape architect: that both garden and artwork are shaped over time, through skill and sustained attention rather than instant effect.
Introducing Nexa at Chelsea 2026
Debuting at the show is Nexa, a new large-scale sculpture that highlights Harber’s continued exploration of materiality and surface. The work introduces copper mesh detailing woven into the studio’s signature bronze Verdigris patina, creating tonal variation and a tactile quality that responds to changing light conditions throughout the day.
Next by David Harber.
A suspended open ring forms a central void within the piece, framing views through the sculpture and encouraging moments of stillness within the active garden environment, a visual pause that connects artwork, landscape and observer.
A Dialogue Between Sculpture and Landscape Design
Alongside Nexa, the stand presents a selection of David Harber’s established works, demonstrating how sculpture can function as an architectural focal point within garden design. Seen collectively within the context of a working garden, these pieces reinforce the idea that art can operate not only as ornament, but as an integral element of spatial planning and atmosphere.
The installation invites visitors to reconsider their own gardens as spaces that balance productivity with reflection, environments that support growing, making and gathering while also offering moments of contemplation and visual drama.
Craft, Heritage and the Future of Garden Design
By pairing sculpture with a landscape rooted in heritage planting and traditional techniques, the Chelsea stand reconnects contemporary outdoor design with older traditions of cultivation and making. It suggests a slower, more intentional approach to gardens and objects alike, one that values longevity, material intelligence and the relationship between nature and human craftsmanship.
For Harber, whose Oxfordshire studio has spent more than three decades creating sculptures, sundials and water features installed worldwide, RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026 becomes not simply a showcase, but a reflection on how art continues to shape meaningful outdoor spaces today.
Read our Fluxx ‘David Harber - Sculptural Garden Art’ feature here
