HER LATEST EXHIBITION IS A DEEP DIVE INTO ITS TRANSFORMATIVE EFFECTS
Nancy Cadogan first visited Lake Como in 2002 and has been returning every year since. For Cadogan, the lake isn’t just a sanctuary, it’s a lifelong source of inspiration.
Over the past two decades, she’s been capturing its infinitely changing landscape alongside moments of stillness and contemplation, dreams and poetry.
‘Stanza’, her current exhibition, is a meditation on the many writers, artists and musicians who have also found inspiration in the waters of Lake Como. A body of work made to celebrate Italy’s deepest lake and everything beautiful and soul-nourishing about it.
Cadogan says: “This atmospheric landscape has provided a place of solace and reflection that has attracted romantic writers such as Percy and Mary Shelley and Wordsworth, as well as Longfellow, Mark Twain and Manzoni, not to mention the artists Turner and Ruskin.”
A CONSTANT FLOW OF INSPIRATION
For Cadogan, its beauty surpasses any other place she’s visited, with the exception of the islands of Killarney. It’s been driving her painting practice for 20 years.
She says: “Carlo Rovelli has written about how time is slower on the top of a mountain. For me, time slows down here. The fact that the landscape is so unchanged allows you to be in time, rather than of your time – and that is what I am trying to convey in the work.
“This show is about the transformative quality of this lake in the foothills of the Alps, a protected pool surrounded by snow-capped mountains, with hills rising up so sharply on either side, creating an intense geography that is reflected in the stillness of the lake.”
Comprising 20 works, ‘Stanza’ is the first international exhibition to go on display at the historic Torre delle Arti, a public art space in the heart of Bellagio. The lakeside town is investing in its culture and wants to present more international artists. A frequent visitor to the village and the lake shore in search of inspiration, Cadogan was a natural choice for this first show.
Loughran Gallery founder, Juliette recently visited the exhibition. She says: “I was lucky enough to spend two days on the lake with Nancy and although I have also been visiting Lake Como since I was a girl, I saw it from a completely new perspective. Nancy's paintings transport you to a dream world, full of calm, magic and beauty. Each painting is not only a study of nature but of tranquillity and contemplation, it’s easy to get lost in the view and good vibes.”
See ‘Stanza’ at Torre delle Arti until 5 August
