Galleria Raffaella Cortese opened its first exhibition space in 1995 on Via E. Farneti, in Milan’s Città Studi district, and a few years later moved to Via A. Stradella 7. Today this is still its main premises together with two other exhibition spaces on the same street, at numbers 1 and 4.
Having the spaces divided in this way not only allows artists to interact with different settings when conceiving their exhibitions and presenting their works, but it is also a unique opportunity to foster dialogue and exchange between artists of different generations and origins. The gallery, with its diffused spaces, offers visitors a chance to see art in close relationship with the city that they happen to be in: they can move from one space to another by crossing the street, meeting Milan and its passers-by. That is why its motto is “still a place”, because the place shapes the discovery of the artists and their world: the works here acquire a unique aura because of their close connection to a space far removed from the repetitive logic of the white cube.

The first artist exhibited, in 1995, was Franco Vimercati: since then, photography has tied together the eclectic research of various artists, from Roni Horn and Zoe Leonard to Jitka Hanzlová. Raffaella’s inclination towards women artists led her to the work of Barbara Bloom, Kiki Smith, Kimsooja, Martha Rosler, Helen Mirra, Allyson Strafella, Silvia Bächli, Nazgol Ansarinia and Monica Bonvicini. The challenging choices in the market are a constant variable: performance is fundamental to Marcello Maloberti, Anna Maria Maiolino, Ana Mendieta, Joan Jonas and Simone Forti; as video art is to T.J. Wilcox, Yael Bartana, Michael Fliri, William E. Jones and Alejandro Cesarco. The gallery also exhibits leaders of contemporary sculpture: Jessica Stockholder, Miroslaw Balka, Karla Black, Francesco Arena, Mathilde Rosier and Edi Hila. 30 artists, 30 solid collaborations built in 25 years of dedication and indispensable freedom.