Nancy Cadogan: 2021

NANCY, What inspires you to create your work? 

A need to make sense and find calm in the world around us. trying to harness or describe a situation in a picture. 

A need to try to make sense of the world around me. to find order in the chaos. 

THAT'S PERFECT. What DO YOU BELIEVE is integral to the work of an artist?

Having space and time to think and read and digest it all. and then to work really hard…. 

AND What 3 words would you use to describe your works?

Integrity, calm and space. 

Has do you believe your work changed over time?

It has changed hugely, despite being still wholly figurative it has changed from observational to imagined and with that huge leaps have happened. 

What style of art do you most identify with?

I think that’s a really tricky question. As if I were generally to answer this i would say figurative art in general. 

Finish this sentence: “I can’t live without…..”

Coffee!

If you could own one piece of artwork in the world, as if money or likelihood was no issue, what would it be and why?

Seurat’s “Bathers’ in the National Gallery, I saw this painting today and I was reminded that it is my favourite piece in the world. It has all the elements of stillness and privacy which most interest me in painting. 

If you could have a meal with any artist from any time, who would the artist be, what would you eat together and why?

Oh, this is a good question, but so tricky. I think I’d like to sit with Leonardo da Vinci and listen and learn from his revelations. 

Do you have any women artists you would love to meet?/ work with?

Paula Rego, Maggi Hambling and Tacita Dean and then I would like to spend time in Charleston with Vanessa Bell.

What are you working on at the moment?

I am currently working on a show in Brussels in 2022 January - at a really exciting gallery and I can’t wait to show you the work for it.  

Has social media been a positive/ negative impact for your career as an artist?

I find social media crippling and I sometimes think I must just be too old for it. 

What advice would you give to yourself at the beginning of your career, looking back now?

Have courage and keep dialogues open, and focus on the work. 

What is the biggest challenge of being a artist, especially a female artist?

I think managing time is a really tricky part of any job. and it is obsessive being an artist, and that is sometimes a challenge alongside being a mother.  

How would you describe your work to somebody who has never seen it?

I hope that my work helps people to feel peaceful, I hope that they recognise the still places in their own minds when they look at my work. 

If you weren’t an artist what other career would you be doing? 

Hairdresser, I would be very happy chatting to clients all day and hopefully making them feel better!

Are you telling a story in your works?

I hope that the viewer will be able to create their own stories from my work.

What research you do/ do you do any before creating work? 

I love to read and read all the time. 

Favourite/most inspirational place for your work?

Lake Como is an incredibly special to me and features in quite a few of my works. 

Who are your favourite contemporary artists ?

@im_na_naina – Sophie Vallance Cantor  

@florencebh – Florence Hutchings 

@echomorgan – Xie Rong 

@tacita_dean – Tacita Dean 

What one song should be added to the She Curates playlist?

I spend a lot of time listening to Nitin Sawhney in the studio . it reminds me of being at art school.