Maria Lai

Born September 27, 1919, in Ulassai, Maria Lai is one of the great names on the international art scene. From a young age, she demonstrated a passion for art and creativity until she became established as one of the most significant artists on the Italian art scene in the postwar period. An eclectic artist, Maria Lai gave voice to her artistic vein through weaving, embroidery, writing, sculpture, and drawing. Her search for new forms of expression led her to embrace conceptual art and explore new modes of artistic expression. A key aspect of Maria Lai’s art is her strong connection to territory and community. Her works often involve the active participation of local residents, encouraging collaboration and the sharing of stories and traditions. This would create a sense of belonging and collective identity, highlighting the power of art as a tool for connection and social transformation. With Legarsi alla montagna (1981) and the involvement of the entire village of Ulassai, she created the first relational artwork in Italy, disrupting the traditional relationship between the author and viewer of the work, transforming the audience into the true creator of an artistic act. One of the distinctive features of Maria Lai’s work is her preponderant use of textile art. Lai was a pioneer in combining conceptual art with the tradition of Sardinian textile crafts. She used threads, cloth and fabrics to create artworks that explore the concept of connections between individuals, memory and time. Her innovative approach broke new ground in the field of visual arts, pushing the boundaries of traditional art. Maria Lai passed away in Cardedu on April 16, 2013. The artist was celebrated in 2017 at both the 57th Venice Biennale and Documenta 14, at the double venues in Athens and Kassel, and in 2018 she was featured in the major monographic exhibition Il filo e l’infinito at Palazzo Pitti in Florence. In 2018, M77 presented About Maria Lai: a solo exhibition of the artist’s work.

Exhibitions

M77 Gallery is proud to present About Maria Lai our next exhibition focused on the extraordinary talent of artist Maria Lai which will take place on Friday 28th September at 7pm.

For the opening event M77 Gallery will host the presentation of the book Maria Lai. Art and connection (Ilisso, 2017) by Elena Pontiggia. On this very occasion an amazing conversation of anecdotes and reflections will take place among Maria Sofia Pisu, niece of the artist and president of the Maria Lai Archive, Cloe Piccoli, art critic, curator and lecturer at the Brera Fine Arts Academy in Milan, and Elena Pontiggia, author of the book.

The conversation will be the special opportunity to open up new prospects on the life and the poetry of Maria Lai, across unpublished materials collected into the volume, the precious testimony of the niece of the artist and the contribution of Cloe Piccoli.

The event will be organised around a fine selection of works, which will be displayed around the M77 Gallery and visible to the public from Friday 28th September to Saturday 13th October 2018.

At M77:

Curated by: Alberto Salvadori

Date: 26/10/2021

- 03/04/2022

At M77:

Date: 28/09/2018

- 07/11/2018

Artworks

Senza titolo (Maria Lai)

Year: 1979
Technique: Tecnica mista carta, filo, inchiostro e tela
Dimensions: 26 × 35,5 × 2 cm

Notte stellata (Maria Lai)

Year: 1984
Technique: Tecnica mista su cartoncino
Dimensions: 16 × 28 cm

Senza titolo (Maria Lai)

Year: 1980
Technique: Tessuto su cartone
Dimensions: 24,5 × 19,5 cm

Senza titolo (Maria Lai)

Year: 2003
Technique: Filo su stoffa
Dimensions: 16 × 29 cm

Progetto telaio senza titolo (Maria Lai)

Year: 1969
Technique: Monotipo
Dimensions:  100 × 71 cm

Senza titolo (Maria Lai)

Year: 1978
Technique: Tecnica mista filo, carta, inchiostro
Dimensions: 40,3 × 29,5 cm

Luna e capretta (Maria Lai)

Year: 2011
Technique: Tecnica mista carta e filo
Dimensions: 34,4 × 48 cm

Senza Titolo (Geografia rossa e nera)

Year: 2011
Technique: mixed media on layers of fabric mounted on wood
Dimensions: 52 × 54 × 5 cm

Pagina nera (Maria Lai)

Senza Titolo (Geografia con capretta e sasso)

Year: 2010
Technique: mixed media on layers of fabric mounted on wood, stone
Dimensions: 163 × 77 × 6 cm

Senza titolo (Maria Lai)

Year: 2008
Technique: Tecnica mista su carta, filo, inchiostro e cartoncino
Dimensions: 49,5 × 36 cm

Senza Titolo (Geografia in velluto nero)

Year: 2010
Technique: mixed media on layers of fabric mounted on wood
Dimensions: 85 × 67 × 10 cm

Duemila natali di guerra (Maria Lai)

Year: 2008
Technique: Stoffa, filo e inchiostro
Dimensions: 41 × 22 cm

Senza titolo (Maria Lai)

Year: 1995
Technique: Tecnica mista su cartone e filo
Dimensions: 50,5 × 36 cm

Diario N°3 (Maria Lai)

Year: 1980
Technique: Tecnica mista filo di cotone, carta, tela e piuma
Dimensions: 26,5 × 36,5 cm

Senza titolo (Maria Lai)

Year: 2003
Technique: Tecnica mista filo su stoffa applicato su legno
Dimensions: 35 × 30 cm

Maria Pietra (Maria Lai)

Year: 1991
Technique: Tecnica mista su stoffa
Dimensions: 33,5 × 58 cm

Dall’ultimo diario di Teresa Mundula (Maria Lai)

Year: 1980
Technique: Libro ricamato
Dimensions: 19 × 31 cm

Duemila Natali di guerra (Maria Lai)

Year: 2008
Technique: Inchiostro e filo su stoffa
Dimensions: 39 × 19,5 cm

Publications

News

Maria Lai on Artforum
Artforum just published an amazing review penned by Alessandra Pioselli (translated by Marguerite Shore) on Maria Lai's …
TALK: Maria Lai
The result of the collaboration between M77 Gallery and 5 Continents Editions on Tuesday 3 December 2019 two appointment…
TALK: A partire da una sentenza
M77 Gallery is happy to invite you to a talk focused on the circulation of works of art entitled: "Starting from a sente…
Un silenzio e uno Sguardo
Opened on the day of her centenary, the exhibition "Un silenzio e uno Sguardo" ("A Silence and a Gaze") MANCASPAZIO in N…
Maria Lai’s first centenary
Today we celebrate Maria Lai's first centenary. Although she left us in 2013, through her works she lives on. On this ve…
M77 at Wopart, Lugano
Opening today Wopart, the international art fair dedicated to works on paper. We will be exhibiting a selection of works…
M77 Gallery at Miart
The day has finally come! Tomorrow Miart will open its doors for the VIP preview. Our booth will represent the 1960s in …
About MARIA LAI
M77 Gallery is pleased to announce the event About Maria Lai, an occasion for reflection on the great Sardinian artist w…
All of Maria Lai’s weaves
Published today yet another amazing article, this time by Il Sole 24 Ore and Marinella Venanzi on Maria Lai’s great retr…