Rolando Politi

Rolando Politi is an Italian-born self-taught artist, activist, and longtime resident of New York City’s Lower East Side whose work transforms discarded materials into vibrant public art. Rooted in his experiences in European squatter movements and anarchist philosophy, Politi has spent decades collecting trash from urban streets and community spaces and turning it into sculptures, installations, costumes, and participatory events. He rejects the label of “recycling artist,” instead describing himself as a gleaner, drawing on ancient traditions of gathering what others have discarded and transforming those materials into art, community projects, and symbolic objects. He is perhaps most famous for the “Winter Flowers” installation at La Plaza Cultural de Armando Perez Community Garden. Politi founded the Trash Worship collective to stage performances and installations using found refuse and has influenced community programs such as Garbagia, which emphasize waste as a creative, social, and ecological resource rather than mere garbage.