Beneath the Venetian Moon: Nigel Cooke’s “Bad Habits”

For his exhibition Bad Habits at Fondazione Querini Stampalia, one of Venice’s oldest and most prestigious institutions, Cooke drew inspiration from the city's lagoon, canals, and singular conditions of light, painting large-scale compositions in a deep, nocturnal palette. Curated by Evelyn C. Hankins on the occasion of the 61st International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, Bad Habits follows Cooke's residency at the Fondazione Querini Stampalia, which allowed for total immersion into the complexities and intrigue of the surrounding atmosphere. In Cooke’s words, the new works “evoke moments of uncertainty and darkness, with threads of hope and the possibility of change glimmering as moonlit fragments.” Bad Habits is on view through November 22.