Mimmo Rotella

Mimmo Rotella — Nouveau Réalisme
Full name: Domenico Rotella

Birth: Catanzaro, Italy

Movement: European Pop Art, Décollage

Training: Academy of Fine Arts, Naples
Artistic Journey
Mimmo Rotella began with abstract painting influenced by American art of the 1940s, but soon discovered his singular language: décollage. From 1953 onward, he tore down and recomposed advertising posters taken from the streets of Rome, exposing their layered surfaces. In 1961, he joined Nouveau Réalisme alongside Klein, Arman, César, and Raysse. His works, close to pop art, reflect consumer society, advertising, and cinema. In the 1980s and 1990s, he returned to décollage and created overpainted photographs, continuing his exploration of imagery and mass culture.
Major Works
Manifesto of Realism (1953) – Text in which he defines his concept of “décollage,” opposed to traditional painting.
Art Is a Mental Thing (1955) – First décollages of posters torn from the walls of Rome.
Marilyn (1963) – Décollage of movie posters around the Hollywood icon, a critique of the society of spectacle.
Coca-Cola (1961) – Torn advertising poster subverting a brand emblematic of consumerism.
Cinérotella (1960s) – Series dedicated to Italian and American film posters, fragmented and recomposed.
Anamorphoses (1980s) – Series of photographs and collages manipulating modern advertising images.
Style and Influences
Décollage: tearing down posters to reveal their materiality and stratification.
Inspiration from Dadaism and anticipation of pop art.
A universe centered on advertising, cinema, icons, and consumer society.
Recognition and Legacy
Official member of Nouveau Réalisme from 1961.
Works held in the collections of MoMA (New York), Centre Pompidou (Paris), Tate Modern (London).
Considered the great master of décollage and a pioneer of European pop art.