COMO.- Nancy Cadogan's 'Stanza', a solo exhibition of new work, reflects her two decades of painting on Lake Como. With approximately 20 works, many painted specifically for this exhibition, ‘Stanza’ follows her 2021 exhibition in the Keats-Shelley House Museum, Rome and her critically acclaimed exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London. Cadogan’s paintings explore dreams and poetry, moments of stillness, contemplation and the infinitely changing landscape of Lake Como itself. This is the first international exhibition to take place in the historic Torre delle Arti Bellagio, a medieval tower relaunched as a public art space in the heart of the lakeside town.

The artist sees this exhibition as a meditation on the many writers, artists and musicians who have found inspiration in the waters of Lake Como. 'This atmospheric landscape has provided a place of solace and reflection that has attracted Romantic writers such as Percy and Mary Shelly and Wordsworth, as well as Longfellow, Mark Twain and Manzoni, not to mention the artists Turner and Ruskin,' says Cadogan. She has made new paintings in response to the writings of Mary Shelley, who spent a summer on the lake with her husband, the poet Percy Shelly. Mary Shelley wrote of the landscape around Bellagio: ‘It surpasses in beauty any other place I have seen with the exception of the islands of Killarney’ and described her walks through the landscape in her book Rambles in Germany and Italy.

‘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,’ says Cadogan. ‘Lake Como has been a part of my painting practice for 20 years and is a constant source of inspiration. 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.’

The exhibition takes place in the Torre delle Arti to highlight the cultural resurgence of Bellagio, where the area’s historic, family-owned hotels are re-opening. The jewel-like town is investing in promoting its culture as a way of creating a deeper connection with the place. In particular, it wants to present more international contemporary artists and show Bellagio as a place of inspiration. As Luca Leoni, the President of Lake Como Hotel Association comments:

‘The city council of Bellagio is very excited to be welcoming this exhibition. Nancy is a true friend of Bellagio, and it is very common to see her around the village or on the lakeshore finding inspiration for her works of art. Nancy is really part of our community and we are looking forward to the opening of Stanza at the Torre delle Arti.’

Nancy Cadogan is a British figurative painter living in the UK. She has been exhibiting her work globally since 2004 with shows in London, New York, Rome, Oslo and Miami. Cadogan paints from imagination and observation to explore themes of literature, time, and still moments. Her paintings invite the viewer to share her joyful appreciation of contemplative observation.

Her 2019 solo Saatchi exhibition ‘Mind Zero’ marked a bold new direction for the artist and the painting of interior and exterior worlds were described by the Evening Standard as ‘heaven on a canvas.’ ‘Footnotes’, Cadogan’s follow-up exhibition for The British Art Fair, continued the artist’s bold new direction.

In 2020, The Keats-Shelley House Museum commissioned Cadogan’s first institutional show, ‘Gusto’. The artist’s paintings, steeped in poetic research were exhibited in Rome and celebrated the 200th anniversary of the life and legacy of the poet.

Cadogan has collaborated with The Land Gardener’s for their latest book Soil to Table which pairs her paintings with recipes from chef Lulu Cox. These paintings, from her body of work ‘All the Good Things,’ celebrate our relationship with nature, food and the landscape around us and draw attention to the important link between the health of our soils and the food we eat.

Cadogan’s latest project, ‘The Lost Trees’, explores our relationship with trees, time, and the natural world. She is examining what it means to make paintings that engage with ideas around sustainability and was invited to the Paris Green Week held at the British Ambassador’s Residence for a live painting performance, and a Q&A with the Government Art Collection.

Cadogan studied painting at City and Guilds before completing her BFA at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK.