Da New York al quartiere Monteverde di Roma. La galleria Raw Messina apre al posto della storica libreria Pugacioff
Raw Messina gallery, founded by painter and photographer Pax Paloscia and photographer Gabriele Stabile, has opened a new permanent space in Rome's Monteverde district, taking over the historic Pugacioff bookstore at Via Busiri Vici 32. The gallery originated in New York at 240 Grand Street, then moved to Milan's Chinatown neighborhood at Via Messina 17 (which gave the gallery its name), and after pandemic-related temporary locations in Rome, the founders purchased the former bookstore premises. The inaugural exhibition features works by young artist Elena Cucci, a recent NABA graduate, with a pop-up show by American artist Peter Meehan scheduled for June 2026.
The move matters because it transforms a beloved local cultural institution—Pugacioff, a used bookstore that served generations of readers and students since 1976—into a contemporary art space, preserving its memory while reinterpreting it. Raw Messina maintains an unconventional approach in the Italian art scene, focusing on lens-based arts and figurative painting, participating in only four fairs per year, and prioritizing long-term mentorship and personal relationships over public calls for artists. This model offers an alternative to mainstream commercial galleries, emphasizing process and collaboration.