Como: The exhibition “Betto Lotti (1894 – 1977). Of art and life" at the Torre delle Arti in Bellagio

Como: The exhibition “Betto Lotti (1894 – 1977). Of art and life" at the Torre delle Arti in Bellagio.

La Bellagio Arts Tower hosts the exhibition from 29 April to 21 May 2023 “Betto Lotti (1894 – 1977). Of art and life" edited by Luigi Cavadini. Through a selection of 40 works, the exhibition delves into some themes and techniques that characterized Betto Lotti's artistic production, closely linked to the relationship between art and everyday life; in particular, the theme of work is told from different points of view in the three sections that give life to the exhibition.
The inauguration on Saturday 29 April at 17pm puts the theme of work at the center with an event dedicated to May 1st, Labor Day.

The review, created by LottiArt by Daniele Lotti and Lauretta Scicchitano Lotti, with the patronage of the Municipality of Bellagio, in collaboration with The Torre delle Arti cultural association, opens with the art and crafts of the 900th century. Large open spaces are described by Lotti with soft and nuanced brushstrokes that create atmospheres with a suspended flavor in which work marks the rhythms of the days as in Chioggia, a watercolor from 1950 where a group of fishermen can be recognized at work on the pier, or Contadini, 1940 or the precious ink of 1952, Le Mondine, where the figures, rendered with a few skilful strokes, narrate the natural gestures and simplicity that characterized the rural life of the time.
In the description of the internal spaces such as the tavern, the tailoring laboratory and the artist's studio, Lotti gives life to works that go beyond the simple representation of environments and, thanks to the masterful management of light and color as well as the mastery of numerous techniques such as watercolour, ink and oil, recreates situations linked to a recent past.

In the intermediate space of the tower are hosted Stories of effort and beauty in which the universe of women's work is told with sensitivity and respect. In these works of great expressiveness and simplicity of execution, thanks to a few graphic signs, the bodies engaged in hard daily work emerge, such as that of La Pescivendola, sanguine from 1927 or Donne al Pozzo, watercolor ink from 1944; the stories of daily work are outlined by Lotti with the same mastery and attention dedicated to the embrace between a mother and her child, Mother of 1966, and with the same expressive lightness of Dame dans le vent from 1925 in which sinuous lines, clear shadows and flat backgrounds describe, in a street with a metaphysical flavour, a female figure blown by the wind.
With this section dedicated to women LotsArt supports Telefono Donna Como, a voluntary association that has been operating in the province of Como since 1991 as a place of listening, meeting and protection for all Italian and foreign women who suffer violence and mistreatment.

The exhibition ends with the room dedicated to the great construction sites of the beginning of the century; large drawings and etchings such as The builders of 1914, Disarmament and In the construction site both from 1916 tell of the liveliness and dynamism that characterized the early years of the twentieth century.

“We are in the middle of the second decade of the 900th century. Lotti is twenty years old or just over and his graphic qualities are already particularly mature – states the curator Luigi Cavadini – The sign and the drawing are no longer solely products of the Academy, but have acquired freshness and a descriptive capacity that is found in black and white of the pencil (and the etchings) a secure anchor to go beyond simple representation. Looking closely at these works, one finds a certain typical spirit of futurism, which can be recognized in the face of complex construction sites in the intriguing dynamism of the workers at work".