Alighiero Boetti Italian, 1940-1994

Born in Turin in 1940, Alighiero Boetti spent much of his life in Rome until his death in 1994, leaving behind a legacy of artistic innovation unparalleled in Western post-war contemporary art. Boetti's diverse body of work was deeply shaped by his fascination with classification systems, leading to meticulous explorations and reinterpretations of organisational structures across various mediums. Though initially associated with Arte Povera, Boetti's art defied easy categorisation reflecting his scepticism toward formal artistic movements. In 1972, he distanced himself from Arte Povera upon relocating to Rome, emerging as a leading figure in conceptual art. Adopting the moniker ‘Alighiero e Boetti’ (‘Alighiero and Boetti’), he symbolised the dualities and collaboration within his own persona.

Boetti's exploration of dualities and binary oppositions, such as order and disorder, individual and collective, and known and unknown, aimed to unveil the interconnectedness of seemingly contradictory forces. Influenced by the changing geopolitical situation of his time, labour dynamics, and Islamic philosophies, particularly Sufism, Boetti expanded his practice by engaging skilled artisans, notably from Kabul, Afghanistan, and later Peshawar, Pakistan, to execute his concepts. Through mediums including drawing, painting, sculpture, embroidery, weaving, mail art, and conceptual practices, Boetti investigated an ever-evolving global perspective, embracing time, space, dimensionality, and cultural exchange as integral facets of his oeuvre.

Boetti participated in the Venice Biennale several times and was the subject of a posthumous tribute at the 49th Venice Biennale in 2001. Notable solo exhibitions have taken place at the Centre National d’Art Contemporain de Grenoble, Grenoble; Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), Los Angeles; the P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York; Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; and the Tate Modern, London. Major retrospectives have taken place at the Museo Nacional de Arte Centro Reina Sofía, Madrid; Tate Modern, London; and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York. Boetti is represented in numerous important public collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna (MAMBo), Bologna; and the Centre Pompidou, Paris.