New Institute Established for Artist Mimmo Rotella

The widow and daughter of the late Italian pop artist and poet Mimmo Rotella have established an institute in Milan which, together with the Rotella Foundation in Torino, will authenticate the Calabrese artist’s works, organize exhibitions, grant copyrights, and create an updated catalogue. Rotella, famous for décollage and psychogeographics made from torn advertisements found on the streets of Italy, was invited by Parisian art critic Pierre Restany to the Nouveau Réalisme movement in 1961, and this is the main categorization of his art. Due to the spike in popularity and value of post-war art, there has recently been a problem with forgeries of his paintings, and up to six are suspected to be fakes by prosecutors (The Art Newspaper, November 2011). Rotella died in Milan in 2006.

Rotella paintings are increasing in value since the millennium, and usually fetch between 30,000 and 40,000 pounds at auction. The 1962 Con Un Sorriso (pictured below) fetched a record 509,600 at Sotheby’s in 2003.