Twenty English Artists on Lake Como is the name of the exhibition running from the 13th to 17th November in London featuring all of the output from the art project set up to raise funds for the preservation of the Anglican Church in Cadenabbia.

The glorious interior of the Anglican Church in Cadenabbia.

Back in August we published an article entitled ‘Lake Como’s British Enclave, the Anglican Church and Landscape Art‘ which featured the church and described the project to raise funds for its restoration. There was an initial exhibition of some of the project’s artistic output inspired by Lake Como on show last September at Tremezzo’s Museo del Paesaggio. That exhibition contained only a sample of the total output from the art project. The complete collection of new works by the twenty artists invited to the lake last April will now be shown at the Gurr Johns Gallery in London’s Pall Mall (Gurr Johns International, 16 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5LU).  If in London, do take this opportunity of seeing how this unique mix of established and up and coming artists of varying ages have come to interpret the magnificent landscape in the most fashionable area of the lake around Tremezzina, Griante, Bellagio and Varenna. 

The whole purpose of the art project, organised by the dedicated congregation of the Anglican Church in Cadenabbia, was to secure funds for the much needed restoration of the church and to ensure it remains open to all residents and visitors alike through its season of regular services from May to September. Part of the proceeds from the sale of the items in the London exhibition will be donated to a charity called The Friends of the Church of the Ascension.

One of the two mosaics on the church’s exterior.

For a preview of all of the works on display, download the exhibition’s catalogue and price list from this link – https://www.20artistsonlakecomo.co.uk. I have in turn copied and pasted below from that catalogue the brief biographies of the twenty artists with a single example of what each artist will exhibit. 

The Twenty English Artists

In alphabetical order: 

Alice Boggis-Rolfe

Alice Boggis-Rolfe. Hazy Afternoon, Lake Como. Oil on panel, 15 x 40cm

Born in 1990, Alice Boggis-Rolfe is a figurative painter. Her subject matter veers from vast open landscapes to quiet, intimate interiors and still-lifes. Trained at Chelsea College of Art and Heatherley’s School of Fine Art, Alice has since held six sell-out solo exhibitions in London and exhibits regularly with the New English Art Club, the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the Royal Society of British Artists and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters.

Caroline Bromley-Gardner

Caroline Bromley-Gardner. Raveglio Olive Farm above Lenno. Oil on canvas, 24 x 30cm

One year Foundation course at Bath Academy of Art followed by 3 years study in Florence Italy with Nerina Simi. Working mostly in oil I undertake equestrian and animal portraiture and sculpt in clay to cast in bronze. I also enjoy Landscape and try to capture the connection between the shifting light of sky and landscape and the movement of composition and perspective. 

Hugh Buchanan

Hugh Buchanan. Morning Light, Villa Carlotta. Watercolour, 22 x 15 inches

Hugh was born in Edinburgh in 1958. The city instilled in him a love of architecture which he developed as a student of Drawing and Painting at Edinburgh College of Art. After graduating in 1981 he worked on commissions for the National Trust and in 1987 was invited by the Prince of Wales to paint a series of interiors of Balmoral. In 1988 he was commissioned by the House of Commons to paint four interiors. Hugh Buchanan’s paintings are also in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Edinburgh City Art centre, the University of Edinburgh, the University of Aberdeen, the Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Flemings Bank, Deutsche Bank, and the National Trust for Scotland. In 2002 he was commissioned by the House of Lords to paint the Lying in State of the Queen Mother at the Palace of Westminster.

Nancy Cadogan

Nancy Cadogan. The Trees at Villa Carlotta I. Oil on linen, 40 x 32 inches

Nancy is a British figurative painter living in the UK. She has been exhibiting her work globally since 2004, and 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.

Richard Foster  PPRP. 

Richard Foster. Getting Ready for the Wedding. Oil, 40 x 60cm

Richard is a portrait and landscape artist, a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, President 2017-2022 and former Vice President and Hon Treasurer. He spends the majority of his time painting portraits, some in London but many on location. He also likes to have occasional exhibitions of his landscapes. His past commissions include the National Portrait Gallery, Oxford and Cambridge Colleges. 

Timothy Hyman RA

Timothy Hyman. He Struggles Twice to Hold the Lake. Oil on board, 27 x 65cm

Painter, writer, curator; born 1946. As well as ten London solo shows, I have published seven books, including most recently (and relevant to this show), ‘Sienese Painting’ (Thames and Hudson, 2003 and 2022). Lifelong commitment to drawing and one of the founding teachers at the Royal Drawing School.

Irma Kennaway 

Irma Kennaway. Griante View, Lake Como. Mixed media on canvas, 50 x 120cm, signed limited edition print.

“I love colour, sunshine and good food, so living in Italy makes sense for me! Florence was the obvious choice after art college at Central St. Martins. Then the lure of Lake Como!” Since graduating from CSM in Fashion & Textile Design, Irma has created for fashion houses including Kenzo and YSL, as well as working on her own playful painting and drawing practice. Today she makes digital art, paints and makes design objects. Irma exhibits regularly and her works are in private collections worldwide.

Lester Korzilius

Lester Korzilius. Half Moon Rising. Bronze resin on Jesmonite base, 85 x 55 x 64cm

Lester Korzilius is an artist and architect. He runs his own arts and architecture practice in London. In the arts, Korzilius graduated with an MFA from the University of Sussex/West Dean and an MA in Sculpture from the Royal College of Art. He is a Doctoral student in Fine Art at the University of East London. 

Cathryn Kuhfeld SWE, CAS. 

Cathryn Kuhfeld. Cormorant on Lake Como II, Watching. Wood engraving, edition of 50, 14 x 7.5cm

Cathryn Kuhfeld is a painter and printmaker who completed her art school studies with a postgraduate course at the Royal Academy Schools. She works with woodcuts & wood engraving and is a member of The Society of Wood Engravers. Her painting subjects range from portraits and gardenscapes to the natural world, the flora & fauna, birds & beasts in and around her studio in Kent.

Peter Kuhfeld  RP, NEAC, CAS. 

Peter Kuhfeld. Morning on Lake Como. Oil on panel, 25 x 50cm.

Peter Kuhfeld is a figurative painter who studied at the Royal Academy Schools London. He is a long-standing member of the New English Art Club & the Royal Society of Portrait Painters where he won the Ondaatje Prize for Portraiture & gold medal in 2019. His great loves are portraiture, interiors, the landscape, and Italy. He has painted extensively in Venice, Florence and Rome, where he is inspired by the architecture and the light. He has had numerous one-man shows & currently exhibits with The Jerram Gallery in Sherborne. Among his notable commissions have been painting the marriage of Prince William & Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey in 2011, and painting HM The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee River Pageant in 2012. More recently in 2022 he painted Anita Lasker-Wallfisch MBE as part of the Surviving the Holocaust exhibition at Buckingham Palace. 

Chris Levine 

Chris Levine. Divine Light at Lake Como. Screen print with diamond dust and luminescent ink, 80 x 60cm.

Chris Levine is a UK-based artist, working in the field of light art. He uses cross-fertilization across many fields including music, performance, installation, fashion and design in a multitude of collaborative projects. He has worked with a wide range of collaborators, including Antony and the Johnsons, Philip Treacy, Massive Attack, Grace Jones, Asprey Jewellers, Mario Testino and has an ongoing relationship with the Eden Project.

Emma Levine

Emma Levine. Tree of Ascension. Lasercut paper with laser etching and entomology pins, 50 x 55cm.

I am a paper and textile artist working with trees. I search for organic shapes and outlines in trees, landscape, plants, corals and shadows that can be translated into delicate cut paper Braille-like forms. I try to keep the very natural essence of the subject even though the method of cutting is digital and industrial. I use paper and silk as this brings about a cyclical return from pulp to tree, from thread to material. I’ve had numerous exhibitions in London, Miami and Dallas as well as international commissions, with my series embodying a valuable and timely connection to the elements that surround and sustain us.

Ray McInnes

Ray McInnes. Bellagio. Acrylic on canvas, 90 x 40cm.

Ray is a retired Anglican vicar from Melbourne, Australia with a lifelong passion as an artist. He works mostly in watercolour and enjoys painting city-streetscapes in a realist/ impressionist style. 

Jonathan Miles 

Jonathan Miles. Ascent. Acrylic on canvas, 84.1 x 59.4cm.

Jonathan has just been made a Fellow at the RCA.

Nina Murdoch

Nina Murdoch. Sophia il Vento. Soft pastel and watercolour on panel, 94 x 75cm.

A painter (Slade and then RA), working mostly on gesso panels with egg tempera, although in the last few years she has increasingly used a combination of pastels and watercolour. Her work is held in the collections of the David Roberts Art Foundation and Hiscox PLC amongst others. Winner of the inaugural Threadneedle Art Prize as well as the ING Discerning Eye Purchase Prize. Solo shows at Marlborough Fine Art, London, and Fine Art Society. 

Abigail Norris

Abigail Norris. Bello e Brutto 2023. Latex, polymer, nylon, animal wool, string, PVC MDF, forged steel bracket, 200 x 140 x 50cm.

Abigail recently graduated from the Royal College of Art, where she studied Sculpture. Her work centres around connectedness, transcendence, absence and presence, exploring entangled relationship with self and other living and non-living beings.

Chris Orr MBE, RA. 

Chris Orr. Dreams of Lake Como. Watercolour and pencil on paper, 46 x 108cm.

Chris Orr is a painter and printmaker interested in the narratives around him in the landscape and people. He lives and works in London and has been a Professor at the Royal College of Art and taken part in the governance of the Royal Academy on many committees and as the Treasurer of the Royal Academy 2014-18. 

Sarah Quill

Sarah Quill. Statue of Artemis, Villa Balbianello. Black and white photograph, 35 x 20cm.

I have worked for many years between Venice and London to create an extensive photographic archive of Venetian architecture, sculpture and daily life. My book Ruskin’s Venice: The Stones Revisited was first published in 2000, with a revised and extended edition in 2015. I give regular lectures, mainly on Venetian subjects, and am a trustee of the Venice in Peril Fund (the British committee for the preservation of Venice). 

Ania Sabet

Ania Sabet. Excelsis. Oil on canvas, 75.5 x 61cm.

Ania Sabet b.1972, is a British-Iranian artist and a practising doctor who trained at Imperial College and then as an artist at the Royal College of Art. The impulse of her art is motivated by sensations derived from the configuration of situations which are in turn figured by formations that could be described as dreamscapes. 

John Wonnacott CBE, RP.

John Wonnacott. The Balcony, Lake Como, Early Morning. Oil on canvas, 91.5 x 122cm.

“I have lived and painted on the Thames estuary in Southend for the past sixty years”. John studied at the Slade, his work has been shown globally and is held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum NY, The Clark Art Institute USA, Tate, National Portrait Gallery (NPG), Scottish National Portrait Gallery (SNPG), Imperial War Museum (IWM), National Maritime Museum (NMM) Arts Council, British Council and Government Art Collection, among others.