Pasta gazzola, 1962
Collage
18 × 15 inches | 46 × 38 cm
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Mimmo Rotella (b. 1918, Catanzaro, Italy – d. 2006, Milan, Italy) was a significant figure in post-war European art, renowned for his pioneering contributions to décollage and collage techniques. Rotella began his artistic journey with geometric abstractions in the 1950s. He later expanded his practice to include the use of posters, canvases, and mass media imagery, creating what he termed "double décollages." This innovative method involved peeling away layers of posters from urban billboards to reveal underlying imagery in new, dynamic ways.
Rotella's work gained international acclaim, leading to his representation of Italy at the 1964 Venice Biennale. His collage techniques earned him a prominent place among the avant-garde, aligning him with other influential artists such as Raymond Hains, Jacques Villeglé, and François Dufrêne, collectively known as Les Affichistes. Rotella was also a member of the French Nouveau Réalisme movement, founded in 1960 by art critic Pierre Restany, which sought to incorporate elements of modern consumer culture into art. His contributions to these movements and his distinctive approach to collage cemented his legacy as a key innovator in contemporary art.