Raffaella Cortese has been a contemporary art gallery and a vibrant meeting place since 1995.

Raffaella Cortese opened its first exhibition space with a solo show dedicated to conceptual photographer Franco Vimercati in 1995. Based in Milan’s Città Studi district since its inception, the gallery has a widespread spatiality thanks to its four spaces in Via A. Stradella, 7, 1, 4 and 15, as the latest private studio. Since 2022, the gallery has also a special project space in Albisola Superiore, on the Ligurian Riviera of Ponente.

The distribution of these spaces allows artists to engage with different contexts when conceiving exhibitions and presenting their work, while offering visitors the possibility to experience international artistic practices in spaces marked by a clear architectural bond with Milanese design, far from the repeatable logic of the white cube.

The gallery represents a transgenerational group of 30 international artists working across different media, with a long-standing commitment to the advancement of photography, installation, and time-based media such as video and performance. Among the first galleries to introduce pioneering American women artists to the Italian contemporary art scene in the 1990s, Raffaella Cortese has made the support of women artists a defining aspect of its identity, alongside a parallel commitment to developing the careers of Italian artists across generations.

The artists represented by the gallery engage with a wide range of critical themes, including individual, political, and national identities; the body, language, and literature; as well as questions of feminism, femininity, and gender. Through a program attentive to both historical depth and contemporary urgency, the gallery has fostered a context in which diverse artistic practices can enter into dialogue across generations, geographies, and media.

Education and access to knowledge have always been central to the gallery’s vision. Within the gallery, a dedicated library and consultation space is open to scholars, researchers, students, and art enthusiasts, fostering the study of artists’ practices and the circulation of artistic knowledge. The library includes historical fair catalogues, monographs on Italian and international artists, and a selection of materials with a particular focus on women artists, photography, and Futurism in Albisola, among others.

The library is open by appointment during the gallery's opening hours. Please contact us by phone or email to make an appontment.

A member of Italian gallery associations such as ANGAMC since their foundation, Raffaella Cortese is deeply rooted in the Milanese and Italian scene of galleries that nurture the contemporary art system.

Raffaella Cortese has a long-standing tradition of discreet philanthropy in support of women’s rights and artistic practices. This commitment also extends to the protection of natural resources, with a particular attention to marine conservation.