Carlo Contini Retrospective Opens at Oristano's Pinacoteca

A retrospective of Sardinian painter Carlo Contini (1903–1970) opened in July 2021 at the Pinacoteca Carlo Contini in Oristano, curated by Giuliano Serafini. Originally scheduled for June 2020, the exhibition was postponed due to the pandemic. It features about ninety works from private and public collections, spanning the artist's entire career from expressionist portraits to informal and Orphic Cubist phases. The show's title, "Ursprung ist das Ziel" (The origin is the goal), a quote from Austrian writer Karl Kraus, reflects Contini's lifelong return to his hometown. Born in Oristano, Contini studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma on a scholarship from the Comune di Oristano, debuted at the 1921 Biennale Romana, and later lived in Venice from 1925 to 1933, participating in numerous national and international exhibitions. He returned to Oristano in 1939, opened a studio, and taught at the Istituto d'Arte di Oristano. Key works include "I confratelli" (1950), "La processione de Su Jesus" (1960), "Sa Sartiglia" (1949), and "Vestizione de su Componidori" (1965), many depicting Oristano's rituals and traditions. The exhibition also includes pieces like "Suonatore di organetto" (1967), "L'albero della Cuccagna" (1958-67), "S'Istrumpa" (1963), and "Pietà" (1959, 1963).