Salvatore Ala

Salvatore Ala (December 16, 1939, Paceco – October 9, 2014, Milan) was an Italian gallerist., widely recognized for his role in shaping contemporary art scenes in both Italy and the United States. Salvatore Ala during his career was the owner of five art galleries in Milan and New York, where he supported the works of emerging and contemporary artists across a range of disciplines, including painting, sculpture, performance and conceptual art. His galleries became workshops for artistic experimentation and cultural exchange, particularly between Europe and the United States.
==Early Life and Career==
In Milan he began to engage with the vibrant Italian art scene. His career took shape in the mid-1960s when he first began promoting artists such as Lucio Fontana. Salvatore Ala came in contact with the work of Alberto Burri, Piero Manzoni, Emilio Vedova and Mimmo Rotella.
In the 1970s, Salvatore Ala expanded his influence beyond Italy, traveling to major European cities, where he encountered prominent artists like Gerhard Richter and Daniel Buren. These connections would later shape his exhibitions and collaborations.
Salvatore Ala also focused on New York, where he began acquiring works by emerging artists. Through these acquisitions, he introduced pioneering American art to Italian audiences and collectors.
==Galleries==
===Galleria Salvatore Ala, Via Mameli, Milan (1974–1984)===
In 1974 Salvatore Ala opened his first gallery in Milan.
The gallery quickly became a significant space for the promotion of Minimalism and Conceptual Art, featuring early European exhibitions of artists such as Joel Shapiro and Agnes Martin. The gallery also hosted performances and interdisciplinary events, including Robert Wilson and his team, marking the first Italian presentations of these influential figures. The exchange between Milan and New York intensified, catching the initial moment of emerging phenomena in the works of Sol LeWitt, Dorothea Rockburne, Richard Tuttle, Mel Bochner, Channa Horwitz, Eric Orr, Douglas Huebler, John Baldessari, Dan Graham and the founder of the so-called Light and Space movement, Doug Wheeler.
Simultaneously, the gallery explored the field of Conceptual and Postminimalism, presenting artists such as Mary Miss and Richard Nonas.
Salvatore Ala also played a role in promoting Arte Povera in the international art world, hosting exhibitions by Michelangelo Pistoletto, Alighiero Boetti , Giulio Paolini, Luciano Fabro and Mario Merz.
In the late 1970s, the gallery expanded its focus to include international artists, presenting exhibitions by Rebecca Horn, Wolfgang Laib, Gordon Matta-Clark and Anselm Kiefer. 
In 1983 in New York he began collaborating with Keith Haring, Ronnie Cutrone, Kenny Scharf and James Brown. The following year Salvatore Ala hotsted the first solo exhibition by Keith Haring in Milan . 
===Salvatore Ala Gallery, 32 West 20th Street, New York (1979–1988)===
In 1979 Salvatore Ala opened a second gallery in New York, directed by Caroline Ala. This marked the beginning of a significant cultural exchange between the Milan and New York. The gallery became a crucial platform for Italian artists in the United States and American artists in Italy. The Salvatore Ala Gallery opened with an exhibition by Jannis Kounellis.
===Galleria Salvatore Ala, Piazza Umanitaria, Milan (1985–1987)===
In the mid-1980s, Salvatore Ala opened a new space in Milan, continuing his focus on international and emerging artists. During this period, he began to exhibit young British artists.
===Salvatore Ala Gallery, 560 Broadway, New York (1988–1995)===
In 1988 Salvatore Ala moved his New York gallery in SoHo, where he continued to present museum-grade exhibitions. Highlights included Antony Gormley's Field , as well as shows featuring Pino Pascali, Carla Accardi, Leoncillo and Fluxus artists. The gallery became a vital part of the international art circuit before closing in 1995.
===Galleria Salvatore + Caroline Ala, Via Monte di Pietà, Milan (1997–2011)===
In 1997 Salvatore Ala opened his fifth gallery, named Galleria Salvatore + Caroline Ala, in Milan. The gallery's programming began with a solo exhibitions by German artist Günther Förg, titled Facciate nere, finestre bianche, the first of seven
With the advent of the European Union, Ala responded to this new cultural context by presenting exhibitions featuring both established and emerging European artists, including Christiane Löhr.
==Archivio Ala==
In 2011, after closing his gallery, Salvatore Ala established Archivio Ala to document and preserve the extensive records of his work as a gallerist. The archive holds a wealth of materials, including photographs, correspondence, exhibition catalogs promoting contemporary art over five decades.
==Publications==
* Jene Highstein. Five Black Cement Sculptures, Corinna Ferrari, Salvatore Ala Edition, 1977
* Domenico Bianchi, Galleria Salvatore Ala, 1984
* Ronnie Cutrone, Illumination, Galleria Salvatore Ala, 1984
* Gianni Dessì, Giorgio Agamben, Galleria Salvatore Ala, 1984
* Antony Gormley, Lynne Cooke, Galleria Salvatore Ala, 1984
* Richard Hambleton. Painting, Carlo McCormick and Tommaso Trini, Galleria Salvatore Ala, 1984
* Antony Gormley. Drawings, Galleria Salvatore Ala, 1985
* Antony Gormley, Veit Loers, Stadtische Galerie Regensburg, 1985
* Alison Wilding, Lynne Cooke, Arts Council of Great Britain, 1985
* David Finn. Masked Figures, Salvatore Ala Gallery, 1986
* Jeffrey Dennis. Paintings, Jeffrey Godfrey, 1988
* Leoncillo. Works 1958-1963, Maurizio Calvesi and Enrico Mascelloni, Electa, Editori Umbri Associati, Galleria Salvatore Ala, 1990, ISBN 88-435-3122-0
* Fernando Melani. La casa-studio, le esperienze, gli scritti, dal 1945 al 1985, Bruno Corà, Donatella Giuntoli and Ferdinando Melani, Electa, Galleria Salvatore Ala, 1991, ISBN 88-435-3196-4
* Claus Brunsmann, Brigitte Dams, Bärbel Schulte Kellinghaus, Ursula Habermacher, Christiane Löhr, Sandra Voets. MEISTERSCHULE, Marco Meneguzzo and Angela Vettese, Charta, Galleria Salvatore + Caroline Ala,1997, ISBN 88-8158-169-8
* Christiane Löhr, Francesca Pasini, Galleria Salvatore Ala, 2000
* Claus Brunsmann, Heinz-Norbert Jocks, Galleria Salvatore + Caroline Ala, 2000
* Günther Förg. Torso & Fragment: Sculpture, Johannes Gachnang and Max Wechsler, Galleria Salvatore + Caroline Ala, 2000, ISBN 3-88375-410-2
* Christiane Löhr. Tendersi dentro, Giuliano Gori and Christoph Schreire, Gli Ori, 2004, ISBN 88-7336-119-6
* Keith Haring a Milano, Alessandra Galasso, Johan & Levi, 2005, ISBN 88-6010-004-6
* Emilio Vedova, Carlo Bertelli, Charta, Galleria Salvatore + Caroline Ala, 2006, ISBN 88-8158-583-9
* Günther Förg. Felder-Ränder, Rudi Fuchs and Max Wechsler, SNOECK, 2007, ISBN 978-3-936859-65-2
* Ralph Müller. WUM, Catherine Nichols, SNOECK, Galleria Salvatore + Caroline Ala, 2008, ISBN 978-3-936859-92-8
* Salvatore Ala, Selected Exhibitions, Archivio Ala, 2024
Category:1939 births
Category:2014 deaths
Category:Italian artists
Category:Italian people