Maria Lai: Mending Pain Weaving Hope

Maria Lai (1919-2003), the influential Sardinian artist whose work draws on the rich history and traditions of her native land, created multimedia works that explore community, religion, and folklore. This book, the catalog for a show in Sardinia, presents nearly 70 works, most previously unseen, related to the extraordinary Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) series that Maria Lai created in 1981 and which she donated to the parish of Ulassai, her birthplace. Maria Lai's artistic endeavor is strongly defined by a mix of secular and religious spirituality: the work presented in this volume reveal her idea of "making art" as something that must respond to the essential questions of mankind and the meaning of existence.