Salvo: Arrivare in tempo

Salvo: Arrivare in tempo / Arriving on time. This autumn, Pinacoteca Agnelli will present the most extensive exhibition dedicated to the Italian artist Salvo (b. Leonforte 1947–d. Turin 2015). 

The show, titled Arrivare in tempo (Arriving on time) is curated by Sarah Cosulich & Lucrezia Calabrò Visconti and will be open to the public from November 1, 2024 to May 25, 2025.

A pioneering artist of the second half of the twentieth century in Italy, Salvo worked independently from currents and trends, transitioning at the beginning of the Seventies from a conceptual practice to figurative painting, an unconventional choice for the cultural climate of the time.

Born in Sicily in 1947, Salvo relocated to Turin in 1956, where he lived for the rest of his life. Early on his artistic approach, which focused on self-representation and language, was shaped by Arte Povera and Conceptual Art. A maverick of the art scene with a strong passion for literature and profound knowledge of art history, Salvo undertook an independent path when he switched to painting in 1973, an unpopular decision that remained misunderstood for a long time and that, only recently, has been grasped in its implications. 

In his canvases, Salvo pursued, for over forty years, a unique exploration and critical reflection on the medium of painting, through reiterations of art historical subjects, portraits, still lifes, urban and natural landscapes. In the spaces of Pinacoteca Agnelli, an exhaustive journey through his oeuvre will emphasise how Salvo’s painting work was never in contrast with his conceptual phase, but rather absorbed the latter’s intentions into an unexpected yet consistent artistic path. 

The exhibition will focus on some of the fundamental concerns of Salvo’s practice:  the importance of probing recurring thematic cycles, both as painting technique and conceptual urgency; the construction of light; the reflection on painting as a language and language as art; the relationship between art history and the representation of the everyday.

Aiming to underline the significance of Salvo’s interpretation of traditional art historical subjects and languages, the show will also extend to the spaces housing Pinacoteca Agnelli’s permanent collection—in dialogue with Balla, Severini, Matisse and Canaletto among others—as part of an all-encompassing project. 

The exhibition, developed in close collaboration with the Archivio Salvo, will be accompanied by a dedicated publication with contributions by important international critics and writers, conceived to open up new critical interpretations of Salvo’s work.

Currently on view at Pinacoteca
New installations on La Pista 500: Felix Gonzalez-Torres, “Untitled”, 1991 / Finnegan Shannon, Do you want us here or not, 2024–ongoing / Rirkrit Tiravanija, Untitled 2024, 2024.

Also on view on La Pista 500: Thomas Bayrle, Julius von Bismarck, VALIE EXPORT, Sylvie Fleury, Marco Giordano, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Alicja Kwade, Louise Lawler, SUPERFLEX.

Exhibitions: Thomas Bayrle, FormFormSuperfor, until August 31, 2024 / Lucy McKenzie and Canova. Vulcanizzato, Beyond the Collection, until August 31, 2024.

About Pinacoteca and La Pista 500
Pinacoteca Agnelli is a museum located in the former FIAT car factory of Lingotto in Torino, relaunched in 2022 with a new contemporary mission. The exhibition programme comprises temporary exhibitions and outdoor site-specific installations on the car testing track on the building’s rooftop, now a suspended garden. Pinacoteca Agnelli also features an important permanent collection  with masterpieces by artists such as Canova, Canaletto, Picasso, Manet, Modigliani and Matisse  as well as exhibition projects aimed  at reactivating the collection through collaboration with contemporary artists and institutions. The new identity of the Pinacoteca creates a link between past and present, through its direct dialogue with the unique history, architecture, and legacy of the Lingotto building that houses the institution.

Press contacts
International—Sam Talbot
Kitty Malton, kitty [​at​] sam-talbot.com, T +44 7514803577

Italy—PCM Studio di Paola C. Manfredi
Francesca Ceriani, francesca [​at​] paolamanfredi.com, T +39 340 9182004