Wright Auction

Alighiero Boetti gained recognition as a founding member of Italy’s Arte Povera movement but in 1970, he disassociated himself from the group and took on new explorations within his art and personal identity. He grew deeply interested in his proclaimed lineage to the 18th century Dominican monk, Giovanni Battista Boetti, who was said to have converted to Islam before leading a rebellion against Russia. Through this connection, Boetti began making regular trips to Asia where he was introduced to the traditions of Afghan embroiderers. Establishing workshops in Kabul and later Peshawar, Pakistan, Boetti collaborated with the women artisans on many of his most iconic works.  

One such series is his well-known ‘Arazzi’. Composed of mosaic-like grids of embroidered Latin or Farsi characters, each work asks to be deciphered by the viewer and contains historical, literary or even mathematical references. By breaking down language into individual parts and re-ordering them according to the Arabic tradition of the law of the square, Boetti challenges the opposing ideas of chaos and order. The audience must use unconventional methods to “read” the work, making sense out of the enigma and accepting not only the plasticity of language, but also the beauty and sophistication it can offer even when elevated to an abstracted form.