Salvatore Fiume was born in Comiso, Sicily, in 1915. He arrived in Milan in 1936, after completing his studies at the Art Institute of Urbino.
The exhibition he compiled in 1949 presented painting which had been achieved through rigorous research and dedication that even evoked the figure of Morandi, despite the magnitude and complexity of compositional structures.
His famous “Islands of statues” emerged to the attention of critics, and it was in this period that the Venice Biennale registered Fiume’s beginning, hosting a large triptych of his.
At the same time, one of his works was purchased by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Since then, Fiume’s solo exhibitions have been regularly held in both Italy and abroad. Fiume’s meeting with the theatre, and in particular with Milan’s Scala Theatre, dates back to 1952: it was at the Scala that Fiume worked for many Seasons, boldly creating innovative images and shapes in a long series of memorable productions.
Other theatres, like Convent Garden in London, the Rome Opera, and Massimo of Palermo, opened some of their opera seasons relying on Fiume to create the sets for their inaugural operas.
Today, the number of those who think that Fiume’s work should be placed among the most valuable and sophisticated of our time has dramatically increased.
His works are placed in public and private collections in Italy, the USA, France, England, Germany, Switzerland, Persia, Japan, Netherlands, Yugoslavia, Israel and the Soviet Union.
Since 1978, thirty-two of his works have been in the Vatican Museum of Modern Art’s collection.
In 1988, he received a honorary degree in literature from the University of Palermo.
In 1991, he exhibited his studies in architecture at the Fourth Salon International de l’Architecture, in Milan.
Since 1960, he has devoted himself to sculpture and his works are placed in the Portofino’s Sculpture Museum, at the Palazzo delle Edizioni San Paolo in Cinisello Balsamo, in the church of San Rocco in Fiumefreddo Bruzio, in the Carmelite church in Cerisano and at the European Parliament building in Strasbourg.
He is also author of the fountain built in the town of Marsala.
