James Hawke’s Life in Transit

A famous British thinker visited the Villa Delle Peschiere in Genoa nearly 200 years ago. Arguably the father of British storytelling today, Charles Dickens described this Villa as the ‘most magical place in Italy’. It was this place where he was apparently visited by the ghost of the Virgin Mary. Said to be one of the inspirations behind ‘A Christmas Carol’, just as Dickens was visited, Scrooge was also visited by the ghosts of Christmas past. There’s no dispute that these grounds conjure up an enchanting atmosphere for those lucky enough to visit.

In the past this same location has hosted Greek/Roman artistic rituals (adaptations performed during the Renaissance era), significant painters such as Luca Cambiosa (the man responsible for the majority of the Frescoes in VDP), and more recently insurance companies and businesses. However, a new organisation aiming to reinstate public arts and cultural programming is seeking to further deepen the villa’s history - inviting British Painter James Hawke to depict his version of Liguria, just as Dickens did.

Known for his bold, colourful reinterpretations of urban and domestic spaces, Hawke brings a contemporary sensibility to ‘Life in Transit’ - the inaugural exhibition from The Palazzo Foundation. Using oil on canvas, his work reimagines domestic and communal settings, often beaches, infusing them with a sense of idealism that speaks to both the real and the aspirational. Famously known for his seaside and local town interpretations (with human activity at the forefront), the artist has responded to the maritime heritage, town beaches, and the architecture and frescos that are unique to Genoa and Villa delle Peschiere. In this show particularly, Hawke’s pieces juxtapose the historical and the modern, echoing the villa’s own dual identity as a place of both historical reverence and living cultural relevance. Vibrant palettes and layered compositions invite viewers to consider the ways in which human activity and socialisation shapes not only physical spaces but also collective memory and identity. Do these beaches look somewhat familiar? Are the figures individual, or collective?

Although ‘Poolside’ (the style most associated with Hawke today, often depicting beaches) has dominated the artists’ practice since 1998, Hawke has been inspired by situational changes in his life. Whilst living in London, the artist took inspiration from urban and social landscapes, as was the same with his time in Norwich. Living now in the serene Norfolk Broads, a national park in East England - Hawke has consistently added new inspirations to his Poolside technique, now heavily inspired by Ligurian culture and colour through responding to the Villa Delle Peschiere.

On the surface, these works give us a bright and optimistic experience. But the cryptic social relationships, and the myriad messages being telegraphed through dress and behaviour within a large community of holidaymakers, are endlessly interesting to people-watchers. A precise and painstaking method of painting leaves the images flat and almost devoid of texture, lending an almost automated feel to the Poolside series. Yet close-up the meticulous labour that has created them becomes apparent. It is one of the many paradoxes to be found with Poolside. Sometimes the effect is unsettling, its mood accentuated by the posed nature of some images. At other times the painting may appear to be a tableau vivant – posed and somehow too perfect in its theatricality – but this is never the case as James rarely alters the juxtapositions of the figures in order to create a better image. Instead he searches through many thousands of photographs for exactly the right composition and balance of movement that often inhabits these complex beach and holiday scenes.

In the upcoming exhibition launching on 29 May 2025 - Hawke hasn’t just responded to literal towns and beaches, but the art and architecture specific to the Villa Delle Peschiere. In the ‘grand hall’ Hawke has taken the figures depicted throughout Cambiosa’s frescoes and placed them on a Ligurian beach - a humorous displacement through his Poolside technique, yet contributing to centuries-old amalgamations of inspiration at the Villa.

The artworks and architecture of Villa delle Peschiere, adorned with Greco-Roman frescos and architectural grandeur, are themselves products of this amalgamation - embodying the visual beauty of Mediterranean and European trade through stunning architecture, art and design. The trade of goods which funded the Villa – from silks and spices to gold and grain – was mirrored by the exchange of ideas and artistic practices. The villa, with its classical sculptures, frescoes, and meticulously designed gardens, serves as a microcosm of these broader movements, blending Renaissance ideals with Baroque exuberance. The theme of transit is deeply embedded in Genoa’s maritime identity. From the bustling docks to the tranquil town beaches, the sea has been both a literal and metaphorical passageway, shaping the city’s industries and its cultural imagination. It is this legacy that James Hawke’s work seeks to interrogate and celebrate, drawing on the interplay between movement, transformation, and the spaces we inhabit.

‍Join us for Life in Transit, opening on the 29th May 2025 at the Villa delle Peschiere, Genoa.