Maria Lai's Fairy-Tale Universe Explored in Sardinia Exhibition

A new exhibition in Jerzu, Sardinia, honors Maria Lai (1919–2013) a decade after her death, focusing on her recurring character Maria Pietra. The show, organized by the Archivio and Fondazione Maria Lai, traces Lai's exploration of this figure from the 1970s to the early 2000s. Maria Pietra, a bread maker with magical powers, embodies Lai's meditation on art's social function and its terrifying potential. The exhibition includes the 1974 series 'Magie di Maria Pietra' (14 zoomorphic sculptures), 1985 collages, 1986 drawings of Sardinian fauna, the 1990s series 'Una fiaba infinita' (suspended fabric strips), and the 1994–1996 terracotta works 'I telai di Maria Pietra'. It culminates with the 1991 tapestry-book 'La fiaba cucita Maria Pietra'. This is the second tribute to Maria Pietra, following a 1991 performance at Studio Stefania Miscetti in Rome. Lai's first encounter with writer Salvatore Cambosu in 1931 profoundly influenced her, particularly his book 'Miele Amaro', which inspired her narratives. The exhibition runs in Jerzu, Sardinia.