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

The distribution of the diffused spaces has allowed artists to interact with different contexts in thinking of their exhibitions and presenting their works, and it offers a unique opportunity to nurture dialogue between the practices of artists across different generations and origins, in spaces with a clear architectural bond with Milanese design.

For 30 years, they have been significant to the close relationship with the city where we find ourselves immersed among the exhibitions of international artists, in a space far from the repeatable logic of the white cube.

In 2022, Raffaella Cortese opened a 12-square-meter exhibition space in Albisola Superiore (Liguria) as a niche in contemporary art that showcases a complementary program, offering site-specific works by the gallery’s artists, but also freely selected collaborations, often featuring new commissions by young artists and their respective galleries. Albisola offers a unique opportunity to experience and contemplate art at a different pace, in sync with a natural spirit embodying the freshness of water, the warmth of the sun, and the depth of the blue.

Through its long-standing commitment to the advancement and promotion of photography, installation, and time-based media such as video and performance art, Galleria Raffaella Cortese has established itself as a pivotal member of the Milanese and Italian contemporary art scene. The gallery was one of the first to introduce the work of pioneering American women artists to the Italian contemporary art market in the ’90s and championing the work of women has become a defining aspect of the gallery’s identity over the years. A parallel focus of Galleria Raffaella Cortese’s program has been developing the careers of Italian artists, both acting as a site of experimentation for younger generations as well as bringing underrepresented late-career artists to the forefront.

As Albisola’s program has further declared, Raffaella Cortese has invited and supported newer generations of artists and gallerists, who have grown alongside the artists who have participated in the gallery’s program.

Through years of support to Italian institutional collections, and everlasting dedication to the progress of the artists’ presence in museums, Galleria Raffaella Cortese aims at cultivating the participation of international artists in Italian institutions, as well as of Italian artists abroad.

The dedication to education has always been a key priority of the gallery, with full support to the teachers and students, who wish to explore the practices of international artists. Sustaining emergent authors and contemporary art critics, the gallery has proudly presented a series of books presentations and has continuously supported the editorial dimension of its artists.

Raffaella Cortese has a long–standing tradition of quiet philanthropy towards organizations that support women’s rights and art practices. She has engaged and plans to further support the defence of natural resources, especially towards marine conservation.