Maria Lai at documenta 14
With Skulptur Projekte Münster, documenta 14, and the Venice Biennale now open and going through the fall, the contemporary art world enjoys a rare trifecta of the major continental exhibitions. We’ll look at the work of some of the Italian artists whose work takes part in or comments upon the international art fair scene.
Maria Lai’s (1919-2013) oeuvre explored both the identity of Sardinian women and the visual representation of literature and poetry. Taking numerous forms, from precise mechanical drawings resembling blueprints to land art to simplified figural sketches to textile and yard assemblages, Lai’s 70-year career was marked by long absences from the art world. Her large-scale installation for the Athens site of documenta 14 is accompanied by smaller works from the 1980s.
Installation for documenta 14, National Museum for Contemporary Art, Athens. Photo: Mathias Völzke.
Pagine cucite, 1981. Photo: Museo di arte moderna e contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto.
Il Pane, 1958. Museo d’Arte della Provincia di Nuoro. Photo: Giuseppe Ungari.
Legarsi alla montagna, 1981/2013. Ulassi, Italy. Photo: Pierre Berengo Gardin.
Geografia, 1994. Photo: Museo d’Arte della Provincia di Nuoro.
Posted by Jean Marie Carey