The Palazzo Ducale in Genoa is hosting a retrospective of the décollage master Mimmo Rotella until September. With over 100 pieces spanning sixty years of his career, the exhibition showcases his method of tearing posters from the streets to transform them into visual poetry. A journey through his evolution, from the early frottages to the sound works.
The décollage technique as an industrial process 🎨
Rotella did not paint; he tore. His method consisted of layering advertising posters on canvas and then ripping away fragments with surgical precision. This process, similar to an algorithm of selective destruction, revealed hidden textures and colors. The artist used solvents and spatulas to accelerate the material's degradation, generating a dialogue between chance and control. Each work is an urban palimpsest.
Creative recycling that makes hippies jealous ♻️
While modern environmentalists debate packaging recycling, Rotella was already recycling visual culture in the 1950s. Tearing posters off the streets was not vandalism; it was artistic appropriation. Or so he said when the police caught him. The exhibition proves that to be an avant-garde artist, you only need quick hands and a good excuse. No need to sign a manifesto.