Edited by Luca Massimo Barbero
This volume forms the catalogue of the exhibition to be held at the Fondazione Cini, in Venice, from May 12 to July 12, 2017. It represents a wonderful unprecedented journey inside the work of Alighiero Boetti.
Alighiero Boetti: Minimum/Maximum is the result of an innovative process of selection and comparison between the minimum and maximum formats of works from the artist’s most iconic cycles. It focused on one of the themes that best represent Boetti’s creative process.
The theme of format is crucial for understanding the way in which Boetti conceived and realised his works, and is directly connected with a concept of time: the notion of the time required to realise an artwork. On a sensorial level, the minimum formats complement the larger works in dialectical opposition, characteristic of Boetti’s creative process.
The exhibition was gradually developed in a comparison, point by point, between small and large scale, minimum and maximum, allowing the public to absorb and enjoy works from different periods in a single context.
Divided into different sections with over 20 artworks, the exhibition contained Boetti’s most emblematic cycles: Ricami (embroideries), Aerei(planes), Mappe (maps), Tutto (everything) and Biro (works made with a ballpoint pen) – as well as some lesser-known works such as the Bollini colorati (coloured stickers), Storia Naturale della Moltiplicazione (natural history of multiplication) and the Copertine (magazine covers). It also provided an opportunity to show works that are largely unknown to the wider public, such as the large-scale work with coloured stickers Estate 70 (1970) – on loan for this event from the artist’s family – and Titoli(1978), one of the largest formats from the rare series of monochrome embroideries. An essay by Luca Massimo Barbero forms the introduction, followed by many contributions by art critics and journalists, experienced experts on Boetti’s work.