Salvo Italian, 1947-2015

Salvo, born Salvatore Mangione, is an Italian artist born in 1947 in Leonforte, Sicily. After studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome, Salvo established himself as a major figure of Arte Povera and the Italian Transavantgarde. At the beginning of his career, Salvo created conceptual and minimalist works, questioning the nature of art and the role of the artist. From the 1970s onwards, he developed a unique figurative style, imbued with irony and nostalgia, revisiting art history and the great masters of the past. His paintings, often large-scale, combine elements of popular culture, literary references, and personal symbols. Salvo plays with the codes of classical painting, subverting the genres of portrait, landscape, and still life to create enigmatic and poetic images. Salvo has exhibited in major international institutions, from the Venice Biennale to the MoMA in New York. His work, both erudite and accessible, demonstrates a constant commitment to painting and a profound reflection on memory and cultural identity. Considered one of the most important Italian artists of his generation, Salvo left a lasting impact on contemporary art through his reinvention of figuration and his fruitful dialogue with art history.