Retracing the Life of Maria Lai, Mother of “Relational Art,” in Sardinia

I first “met” Maria Lai while visiting Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia, one October. In a half-hidden, graffiti-colored square, the artist’s name is printed on a stone slab propped up on a metal post in front of a pink wall and beneath two residential balconies. Across the way are one or two well-maintained trees — lusher than you might expect so close to the equator — along with the bl