Narcisa Monni: Painting as a Living Language

Narcisa Monni (born 1981 in Alghero, lives and works in Sassari) is a painter and lecturer at the Accademia di Belle Arti M. Sironi in Sassari. She graduated in Painting from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Sassari and specialized in Interaction Design at the Facoltà di Architettura di Alghero. Her recent solo and group exhibitions include 'Insieme a te non ci sto più' at Stazione dell'Arte, Ulassai (2020), 'Back up, giovane arte in Sardegna' at Museo Nivola, Orani (2020), and 'Ritratti d'autore' at Masedu Museo d'Arte Contemporanea, Sassari (2019). Her painting 'Le caramelle' is in the collection of Stazione dell'Arte, Ulassai. Monni turned to painting in 2012 after assisting an art therapy course in a psychiatric facility in Sassari. She describes herself as a conceptual artist using painting as a medium. Her series 'In tempo di guerra', begun during the first lockdown, comprises over 100 works on magazine pages using Giotto tempera. The series addresses everyday life, memory, and marginalized figures. Monni cites Maria Lai as a major influence. She works quickly, with titles integral to the work, and uses photographic references that lose their identity to become universal. Her practice is driven by autobiography and an intimate, obsessive focus on daily life, love, pain, and failure. She believes painting is an eternal art form and sees the Italian contemporary painting scene as vibrant.