Maria Lai – Divenire Pietra
Curated by Giulia Brandinelli
1 July – 10 September 2023
Exhibition Hall Cantina Antichi Poderi, Via Umberto I, 1 in Jerzu (NU)
Vernissage 1 July 18:30
On the tenth anniversary of the death of the famous artist Maria Lai, the Archive and Foundation dedicated to her, are proud to present the exhibition Maria Lai, Divenire Pietra curated by Giulia Brandinelli, which can be visited from 1 July to 10 September at the exhibition hall of the Cantina Antichi Poderi di Jerzu.
The exhibition Maria Lai, Divenire Pietra opens to the public on Saturday 1 July at 6.30 pm at the exhibition hall of the Cantina Antichi Poderi di Jerzu. The exhibition, strongly desired by the Archive and the Maria Lai Foundation, is a tribute to the Ogliastra artist ten years after her death.
The theme of the exhibition, Maria Pietra, is representative not only of Lai’s poetic and artistic journey, but also of her personal and cultural growth, entrusted during her youth to Salvatore Cambosu, novelist and essayist, Lai’s teacher and mentor.
Cuore mio, the story published by Cambosu in Miele Amaro (1954), inspired Lai’s production for over thirty years. Initially he made pencil and ink drawings on paper, then bread, enamelled ceramics and refractory terracotta, and later paper and then fabric collages, which became famous in 1991 with the exhibition of the sewn book Maria Pietra, at Studio Stefania Miscetti in Rome together with the sewn cloths.
The story, a metaphor for art and the artist, is the tormented tale of a mother who sacrifices her life to save that of her son and to do so she resorts to magic, invokes animals for support and succeeds in her intent.