19/02/2014

 Carmelo Floris was born in Bono (Sassari) in 1891.

In 1908, his family moved to Olzai. The following year Floris went to Rome to attend the Academy of Beaux-Arts.

In 1921, he took part in the 1st Biennial Exhibition of National Art in Rome and in the Exhibition of Sardinian Art in Cagliari.
In 1923, his paintings were exhibited at the Quadrennial Exhibition of Turin and at the 91st Exhibition of Beaux-Arts in Rome; in 1927, on invitation of the sculptor Francesco Ciusa, he moved to Oristano to teach Drawing in the local school of Applied Arts. In 1931, he exhibited his works at the 1st Quadrennial Exhibition of National Art in Rome. In June 1936, he mounted his first personale in Sassari, while his second one was held the following year, in March, at the Palladino Gallery in Cagliari.

Around 1942, he returned to Olzai. In 1944, he exhibited his works at the Triennial Exhibition of Tempio Pausania; in 1948, he took part in the “Ottobrata Iglesiente”, and also probably realized the great triptych for the council chamber of Iglesias Town Hall. In1949, some of his works were present at the National Painting Contest in Siena as well as in Venice. In the years 1953-1954, together with the painter Giovanni Ciusa Romagna, he worked on the realisation of the “Via Crucis” for the Cathedral of “Santa Maria della Neve” in Nuoro. From January to July 1956, together with other Sardinian engravers, he took part in a travelling exhibition through the most important Dutch and German towns. In March, an Exhibition devoted to his works was also held at the “Delfino” Art Gallery in Rovereto. In 1957, a broad collection of Floris’s paintings and graphic works was exhibited in Viareggio and, then, in Sassari; in August, he won the prize “Città di Nuoro” in occasion of the “Premio Sardegna”. In February 1960, his Florentine personale, held at the Alighieris’House, was a success.

Carmelo Floris died the 22nd of August 1960.