Returns. Twentieth-Century Masters in Dialogue - Faces and Stories of Sardinia (1913–1964)

After more than ten years of absence from the exhibition rooms of the Civic Art Gallery of Cagliari, the Civic Collection of Sardinian Artists is finally visible to the public again with a new project that aims to enhance one of the most identity-rich assets of the Civic Museums. This gives rise to "Returns. The masters of the twentieth century in dialogue", a series of exhibitions designed to gradually bring to light the works stored in the deposits and return them to the enjoyment of visitors through thematic insights and new ways of interpretation.

The first event of the project, open from March 27th, is the exhibition "Faces and stories of Sardinia (1913-1964)", featuring sixteen of the most beloved works from the civic collection. These are masterpieces that depict Sardinia through the faces and lives of its people: farmers, fishermen, women from Campidano, prioresses, strikers, young brides, woodcutters, and musicians. Real figures, far from folklore stereotypes, individuals with stories, gazes, and dignity that emerge from the deposits to once again inhabit the rooms of the Gallery and engage with the works of the Ingrao Collection, the heart of the museum's permanent display.

The exhibition is organized into three thematic sections – faces, work, and moments of relationships and celebrations – guiding the visitor through the different dimensions of daily life in Sardinia during the first half of the twentieth century. In the portraits, we encounter men and women who we then find in other sections: sometimes posing in their best clothes, other times marked by the toil of work or taking part in collective moments of rituals, celebrations, and social demands. These are the same people who inhabit the community's time and whom the artists have chosen to portray, conveying through art gestures, identities, and transformations of a changing society.

The exhibition brings together works by some of the main interpreters of Sardinian art of the twentieth century, including Giuseppe Biasi, Mario Delitala, Filippo Figari, Aligi Sassu, and Maria Lai, alongside the works of Ballero, Dessy, Floris, Fois, Grassi, Melis, Mura, Palazzi, Sini, Tanda, and Thermes, offering a choral fresco capable of conveying the complexity and richness of the island's visual culture.

In addition to the exhibition, the Gallery also offers an educational itinerary designed for children, featuring games, observations, and curiosities. A simple and engaging way for younger visitors – and families – to explore the exhibition independently, discover the works and spaces of the museum, and create their own personal narrative of the stories preserved in the collection.

For more info: https://sistemamuseale.museicivicicagliari.it/ritorni-i-maestri-del-novecento-in-dialogo-volti-e-storie-della-sardegna-1913-1964/