Mimmo Rotella & Friends

A tribute to Mimmo Rotella – master of décollage and a leading figure of Nouveau Réalisme.

Twenty years after his death, Mimmo Rotella (Catanzaro, 7 October 1918 – Milan, 8 January 2006) is celebrated as one of the most innovative and influential figures in twentieth-century art. After graduating from the Accademia di Belle Arti in Naples and settling in Rome in 1945, Rotella embarked on a process of experimentation that led him, in 1953, to what he himself described as a true “Zen enlightenment”: the discovery of the advertising poster as an art form. From this revelation emerged décollage, a technique opposed to collage, based not on addition but on subtraction and tearing. Rotella removed posters from city walls, reassembled them in his studio, further tore them by hand or with tools, and then applied them to various supports such as canvas, wood, or sheet metal.

His works are held in some of the world’s most important museums and collections, including the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Throughout his career, Rotella participated in the 1964 Venice Biennale as well as numerous international exhibitions. In 1960, he joined the Nouveau Réalisme movement, founded by the art critic Pierre Restany, which brought together artists such as Yves Klein, Daniel Spoerri, Jean Tinguely, César, Arman, Christo, and Niki de Saint Phalle.

The exhibition 'Mimmo Rotella & Friends,' presented at NEO art & culture lab x VogelART in Nice, is a tribute conceived by Gregor Hildebrandt, the internationally renowned artist represented by the prestigious galleries Almine Rech and Perrotin, and a great admirer of Rotella’s work. The exhibition is conceived as a dialogue between Rotella’s works and those of contemporary artists who embrace, reinterpret, or critically challenge his legacy, creating a space of resonance between past and present.

At the heart of “Mimmo Rotella & Friends” are Rotella’s décollages, which enter into dialogue with works by fourteen internationally acclaimed artists.

'Mimmo Rotella & Friends' is not merely a tribute to a historical figure; it is a vibrant space of resonance between past and present. It demonstrates how Rotella’s artistic vision remains alive and continues to shape contemporary visual art and culture, offering a profound and open-ended interpretation of his legacy.

The exhibition has been organized in close collaboration with the Rotella family and is being held in Nice, a city with which the master maintained a particularly strong connection.