Mimmo Rotella (1918-2006)

Born in  Catanzaro, Calabria studied painting in Naples before National Service with the army during the war.  On being demobbed he made a living by teaching art in his home town, returning to Rome, where he first made a name for himself as an experimental poet. However he wanted to become a painter, and his first exhibition of abstract and geometric paintings in 1951 was completely unsuccessful. The same year he won a scholarship to the University of Missouri where he enjoyed considerable success as a poet..
On his return to Rome he began to make his trademark  collages, using film posters torn from walls and hoardings and reconstructed in the studio. He also began to mock the commercialism of "high" culture, turning an oil-can into art by replacing the brand name with his own personal logo. 
In 1986, he gave flamboyant poster-stripping performances in Havana, dressed as a fighter pilot. He exhibited widely including at the Venice Biennale, MOMA New York, and the Pompidou Centre, Paris. His work is held in numerous international collections.