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Gino MAROTTA (1935 - 2012) was born in Campobasso and began his artistic career at a young age. In the 1950s, he developed a series of diverse techniques, including encaustic works, collages of unconventional materials, and amalgamations of sand. His first solo exhibition was in 1957 at the Galleria Montenapoleone in Milan, where he showcased tapestries, encaustic and velatini works. He later exhibited his aluminium and lead works at Galleria Appunto in Rome. In 1959, he presented his Bandoni series at Galleria dell’Ariete in Milan, comprising works created from found sheets of iron assembled into new compositions. In chemical industry workshops, factories, and foundries, Marotta experimented with new materials like polyurethane and polyester, creating sculptures using industrial mass-production processes. His focus on innovative materials continued with his methacrylate sculptures, which soon turned into Environments.
Marotta also ventured into avant-garde cinema and theater, designing costumes and sets. He is particularly known for his collaboration with the renowned theater director Carmelo Bene, for whom he created the set design for the theatrical production of Nostra Signora dei Turchi (1971) and Hommelette for Hamlet (1987).
Marotta’s work was featured in numerous important exhibitions in Italy and abroad. Internationally, he exhibited at the Museu de Arte Moderna in São Paulo (1967) and the Louvre Museum in Paris (1969). In 1971, he participated in Elf Italiener Heute at the Museum am Ostwall in Dortmund, Germany, and at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The following year, his work was included in Italy: The New Domestic Landscape at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Later exhibitions included the Venice Biennale (1984), the 11th Quadriennale d’Arte at Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome (1986), and an exhibition at MACRO in Rome (2009). In 2012, the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GNAM) in Rome inaugurated Gino Marotta: Relazioni pericolose. Marotta died in Rome in 2012, while the exhibition was still underway.