Liliana Cano retrospective in Sassari features over 100 works

A major retrospective titled 'Liliana Cano. Il fuoco dentro' opens at the Padiglione Eugenio Tavolara in Sassari from July 10 to September 20, 2026. Curated by Davide Mariani, it is the largest exhibition dedicated to the Sardinian painter in recent years, featuring over 100 works—many rarely or never exhibited—alongside photographs, documents, and archival materials. Born in Gorizia in 1924, Cano moved to Sassari after WWII, held her first solo show there in 1960, and later founded the Galleria Sironi, a cultural hub for two decades. She worked extensively in southern France between the late 1970s and 1990s, exhibiting at the Grand Palais in Paris and creating monumental works. The exhibition is organized thematically, highlighting recurring motifs: agro-pastoral life, female figures, the sacred, myth, poetry, and popular celebrations. The title references her creative energy and signature vibrant red, which she called the 'king of colors.' Highlights include paintings from private collections, three small candlesticks from the 1970s shown for the first time, a large painting of the Discesa dei Candelieri, and documentation of the triptych 'Les amants du soleil' (1988) for the Université d'été de Toulon. The exhibition closes with 'Primavera' (2020), a small landscape painted in her final year. The project results from over two years of research by Mariani with the Archivio Liliana Cano.