1924
Liliana Cano was born on 18 October 1924 in Gorizia, the daughter of Lamberto Cano, an engineer originally from Olbia, and Bruna Nigra, a teacher and niece of the sculptor Attilio Nigra. Just a month after her birth, the whole family moved to Milan.
1930-1935
After six years in the Lombard capital, in 1930 the Cano family moved to Rome, where Liliana started primary school. Two years later, her sister Maria Vittoria was born and in 1935 they moved to Barletta. This change of residence deeply marked Liliana, giving her a strong sense of nostalgia for the capital. During secondary school, she began to dedicate herself to drawing under the strict guidance of her mother who, as an amateur painter, recognized an innate talent in her.
Liliana Cano (40s)
1938-1944
In 1938, her father obtained a position as a school director in Turin and, due to his daughter's predisposition for art, decided to enroll her in the Accademia Albertina. Liliana was admitted the following year and studied under teachers such as Filippo Omegna, Domenico Valinotti, Adriano Alloati, Giacomo Manzù, Marino Marini, and Aldo Bertini. However, the most significant influence, as the artist herself declared, came from Don Mario Carena, Felice Carena's brother. Don Mario encouraged her to pursue “art for life and not art for art's sake”, arguing that figurative art has the power to help, while abstract art, although it may be pleasing, is essentially useless.
During her training period, Liliana received numerous compliments from her teachers: Marino Marini asked her for a drawing that he particularly appreciated. However, the fact that she was a woman penalized her: Valinotti told her, “Cano, you are the best of all; but you are a woman and I give you an eight.”
In 1940, her sister Luciana was born, who, like Liliana and Maria Vittoria, dedicated herself to painting. In 1942, the family moved to San Benigno Canavese, where they lost most of their possessions due to the conflict, which destroyed the house where they were kept. In 1943, she graduated from the Albertina and enrolled in the Faculty of Architecture, which she abandoned after taking just one exam. From then on, she dedicated herself exclusively to painting, and in 1944 she took part in a competition in Padua, winning first prize.
1945-1968
In 1945, the family moved to Sardinia and settled in Sassari. Two years later, she met the journalist Domenico Panzino, who would become her husband and introduce her to the lively local artistic environment. During this period, she came into contact with numerous artists such as Filippo Figari, Mario Delitala, Stanis Dessy, Eugenio Tavolara, Gavino Tilocca, Ausonio Tanda, and Pietro Antonio Manca, and befriended, among others, Costantino Spada and Libero Meledina. The latter initially influenced her painting, as can be seen in the portraits she painted during this period, which she defines as ‘tonal painting.’ However, Liliana soon abandoned this style, attracted by the power of color and sign.
In 1950, her son Igino was born, who would follow his mother's artistic career. In 1951, Liliana joined the Sassaresi Artists' Association and participated in her first collective exhibition.
In 1952, she exhibited in a group show in Bologna. During these years, she deepened and satisfied her curiosity for European art thanks to the periodical ‘seleArte,’ conceived and directed by Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti with the support of Adriano Olivetti. In 1960, she opened her first solo exhibition in Sassari. In 1965, she received her first public commissions, including the creation of “L’ultima cena” for the Parish of San Francesco in Sassari. In 1968, Liliana Cano joined the event organized by Pinuccio Sciola in San Sperate (CA), contributing with her work to the transformation of the exterior walls of the houses in the historic center, which were painted white thanks to the active participation of the inhabitants. These walls thus became white spaces ready to host the interventions of other Sardinian artists such as Foiso Fois and Gaetano Brundu, followed by other international artists such as Rainer Pfnürr and Elke Reuter from Germany, Meiner Jansen from Holland, Otto Melcher from Switzerland, and José Zuniga and Conrado Dominguez from Mexico.
1969-1978
In 1969, she exhibited at the “Chironi 88” Gallery in Nuoro, where she met the Palimodde family, owners of the “Su Gologone” hotel. From this meeting, a long friendship and collaboration was born, with frequent stays in Oliena (NU), attested by the numerous works in the hotel's collection. Also in 1969, she financed the opening of an art gallery in Sassari, which she called the “Sironi” Gallery, where she exhibited continuously for twenty years and hosted solo exhibitions of several other artists. In 1971, she realized the ‘Murale dei combattenti’ in Ozieri (SS). From 1972 to 1977, she took part in numerous exhibitions in various Italian cities, including Treviso, Venice, Florence, and Siena, and in France, exhibiting at the ‘Grand Casino’ in Vichy with Pesatori and Ariggi and at the ‘Salon de peinture’ in Les Lilas.
In 1977, as a guest of her friend Pesatori in Paris, she participated in the L'Etoile d'or des Lilas competition, winning first prize. Subsequently, she set up a solo exhibition at the Teatro Civico in Sassari, focusing on themes inspired by the works of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, thus initiating a fruitful relationship with poetry and giving rise to a reformulation of her pictorial language. In 1978, she received the “Special Award for Artistic Activity” from the President of the Italian Republic on the occasion of an exhibition at the Cagliari Conservatory. After finishing her teaching career, she spent a month in Barcelona, where she created several drawings and visited the Picasso Museum. Immediately afterwards, she decided to continue her artistic activity in Provence, in Saint Mitre-les-Remparts, where she settled.
1979-1984
Between 1979 and 1984, Liliana Cano worked in the north of France, but the chaos of Paris and the harsh climate prompted her to return to Provence. In Marseille, she met the sculptor Francis Olive and joined the artistic community of Port-de-Bouc, participating in a major exhibition at the Théâtre de l'Olivier in Istres in 1979. Despite her work in France, Liliana retained contact with Sardinia. In the same year, she realized several mural paintings at the Sporting Club of Monte Spada in Fonni (NU).
In 1980, he held a personal exhibition at the Italian Cultural Institute in Marseille and, subsequently, he was again in Sardinia, in Oliena, where he created mural works in the church of San Lussorio (1980-82).
In 1981, he exhibited at the Grand Palais in Paris and moved to La Côte, near Istres, where he remained for five years. Between 1982 and 1983, he experienced a very prolific period, starting to exhibit regularly at the “Franklin Roosevelt” Gallery in Toulon and at the Grand Palais in Paris for the “Salon d'Automne”.
In 1984, she painted an impressive mural (160 square meters) in Bono (SS), dedicated to the anti-feudal revolt led by Giovanni Maria Angioy.
Views of Bono's mural (1984)
1985-1995
Between 1985 and 1995, Liliana Cano experienced numerous artistic changes and developments. In 1986, she moved to Toulon, where she found a home-studio, thanks to the owner of the “Franklin Roosevelt” Gallery, her friend Madame Perrimon, originally from Corsica and married to a well-known doctor. She organized a solo exhibition in Les Baux-de-Provence and participated in the First Painting Salon of the University of Toulon, as well as exhibiting in Germany, in Rastatt and Durmersheim. In 1987, she held two solo exhibitions in Amsterdam, one of which was at the prestigious World Trade Centre. In 1988, she produced the large triptych ‘Les amants du soleil’ for the Université d'été in Toulon. In 1989, she became a member of the board of the Association of Provençal Painters, collaborating with personalities such as Yvan Audouard and Raymond Rousset. In 1990, she executed three large works in the church of San Francesco d'Assisi in Aglientu (OT). In 1992, she held a solo exhibition of over one hundred works at the “Saint Michel” Gallery in Fontvieille, Provence. The following year, on behalf of the Association of Provençal Painters, she was invited to Russia, to St. Petersburg, where she donated one of her paintings to Count Tolstoy, grandson of the famous writer.
Views of the Toulon Triptych (1988)
1996-2010
Nel 1996, rientra definitivamente a Sassari dove, l’anno dopo, viene allestita una mostra personale a Palazzo Ducale. In questi stessi anni riscopre anche una profonda tensione religiosa che la guida verso la creazione di diversi cicli pittorici di natura sacra (Chiesa di San Vittorio a S. Teresa Gallura (OT), 2003; Chiesa di Sant’Ignazio a Oliena (NU), 2005; Biblioteca Francescana S. Pietro in Silki a Ittiri (SS), 2005), così come di interventi sul territorio attraverso nuovi murales a Bultei (SS), Irgoli (NU), Selegas (CA) e Oliena (NU), dove nel 2004 riceve la cittadinanza onoraria.
In 2006, for the merits obtained in the field of visual arts, she was awarded the "Special Golden Candlestick", a prize awarded to her by the city of Sassari. The same year, some of his works were exhibited in Sydney, at the Seymour Theater Center, and in Melbourne. In 2009 he held a group show at the Frumentaria palace in Sassari together with his sisters Luciana and Maria Vittoria and a large personal exhibition at the Castello di San Michele in Cagliari, in which he exhibited 104 watercolors dedicated to the poems of Pablo Neruda.
2011-2021
Nel 2011, Liliana Cano è selezionata tra gli artisti partecipanti alla LIV Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte della Biennale di Venezia, nell’ambito degli eventi espositivi del Padiglione Italia. In questo periodo inizia un ciclo di opere a tema religioso che saranno presentate in varie occasioni a Ittiri (SS), che la omaggia con la cittadinanza onoraria. Nel 2014 tiene una mostra personale a Sassari intitolata “Sulle ali della musa”. Negli anni seguenti, continua a dipingere e a creare opere su commissione, come nel 2016 a Oliena (NU). Nel 2019, riceve il Premio Prometeo dalla Comunità Mondiale della Longevità in occasione della sua personale nei locali della Banca Generali di Cagliari, intitolata “Venus Tissées”.
Liliana Cano passed away in Sassari on 2 September 2021, at the age of 96.
