Maria Lai

This fully illustrated book was planned in collaboration with Archivio Maria Lai and its ambition is to become forthwith the standard reference work for those wishing to learn more about Maria Lai and to explore her links with the Italian and international art historical context in which she operated.

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September 1981 marked a turning point in Maria Lai's development as an artist. Her relational work Legarsi alla montagna,
created at Ulassai, proved to be a watershed. The importance of this
event meant that it became a central narrative episode in the monograph
devoted to the Sardinian artist (1919-2013) edited by Elena Pontiggia.


The
first part of the book, consisting of ten chapters, brings into focus
the various fields covered in Lai's oeuvre: embroidered canvases, books,
geography, bread and stone, public works, and relational works. She was
also interested in the theatre, the sacred in general, and nativity
scenes in particular, and the way play is associated with art. The truth
is, Maria Lai's inspiration and the expressions of her passions came in
a multitude of forms, all linked in one way or another to the family
she grew up in and which always proved strongly supportive of her and
her artistic endeavours.


The second part of the book concentrates
on the notes Maria Lai took and the conversations she had with the
writer Giuseppe Dessì, and with Mario da Candia and Giuseppina Cuccu,
for instance. It closes with an essay that highlights the success her
work enjoyed in the period 1943-93.