Mimmo Rotella: the Art of Recycling and the Ready Made October 23, 2009

Rotella is the first of the three artists qualified as "affichistes." He used/re-used existing materials for his creations long before "recycling" was becoming a prominent discussion. The collection of the Chelsea Art Museum consists of very early works of Mimmo Rotella (burned paper stuck on canvas), e.g. from his Marilyn series and advertising posters, as well as "soprapintura" on torn posters, still on their zinc support. Other works in the collection are more recent; his Berlin series and his ready mades, i.e. his oil cans ("Shell" in Japanese is "Rotella").