Alighiero Boetti - Decoding His Universe: Works on Paper (1968-91)

Alighiero Boetti’s works on paper provide illuminating glimpses into the secret world of the artist.

From the playful to the provocative, doodle to drawing, Boetti’s graphic work takes the viewer to the heart of the artist’s obsession with creating codes, games and rules. For him, art was a game for everyone to play and the role of the artist was to set the rules. The first Post-War Italian artist to be given a solo show at Tate Modern, London (‘Game Plan’ in 2012, which travelled to MoMA New York), Boetti’s playful conceptualism, humour and wordplay resonates with London audiences.

Paper is the constant thread that ties much of Boetti’s work together, from his sketches to his museum-quality pieces. ‘Alighiero Boetti | Decoding His Universe’, at Tornabuoni Art London, presents over 30 works on paper by the artist that span his entire career and range in scale from origami airplanes to monumental murals. These works are rarely seen in such quantity and depth, so this show provides a unique opportunity to delve into the mind of the artist whose work is so intensely cerebral. The show will include some of his first conceptual works, such as the Bollini (Stickers) series from the late 1960s.