Mimmo Rotella Retrospective at Palazzo Ducale Genoa

The Palazzo Ducale in Genoa presents a major retrospective of Italian artist Mimmo Rotella (1918–2006), running from April 24 to September 13, 2026. Curated by Alberto Fiz in collaboration with the Fondazione Mimmo Rotella, the exhibition features over 100 works spanning more than six decades, from his post-war abstract and surrealist beginnings to his iconic décollages and late 'New Icons'. Rotella, often associated with Nouveau Réalisme and Pop Art, is best known for his double décollage technique—tearing and layering advertising posters from Rome's streets, then adding paint and further rips. Unlike contemporaries Hains and Villeglé, he transformed found posters into new compositions. The show includes key works such as 'Naturalistic' (1953), 'La tigre' (1962), 'Il punto e mezzo' (1963), 'Tenera è la notte' (1962), and pieces dedicated to Marilyn Monroe. It also explores his experimental poetry ('epistaltica'), and techniques like artyp, effaçage, frottage, and overpainting. Archival materials and audiovisuals contextualize his practice within the rise of mass media and consumer society. The retrospective aims to restore complexity and relevance to an artist often pigeonholed as the 'Italian Andy Warhol'.