London – In celebration of Alighiero Boetti’s artistic legacy, Christie’s will present a retrospective entitled ‘Mettere al Mondo il Mondo’, taking place at Christie's London from 19 to 27 February. Coinciding with the 30^th anniversary of Boetti’s death, the exhibition comprises more than 25 works spanning three decades of his career. Including major examples of Boetti’s Mappe, Aerei, Biro, Tutto and Arazzi, ‘Mettere al Mondo il Mondo’ represents a survey of one of the 20^th century’s most enigmatic and ambitious practices. Charting the breadth and depth of Boetti’s career – from early works created in the crucible of Arte Povera, to his ground-breaking cycles of the 1970s and 1980s and his remarkable late series Tutto – masterpieces will be juxtaposed with unseen gems.

A selection of works will be included in the 20^th / 21^st Century: London Evening Sale on 7 March and the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale on 9 March.

Works offered in the 20^th / 21^st Century: London Evening Sale include the five-part masterwork Mettere al mondo il mondo (circa 1974, estimate: £650,000-850,000). Spanning three and a half metres in width, it is an exceptional example of the artist’s Biro, and spells out one of his artistic philosophies. The selection also features a rare suite of 25 intimate Arazzi entitled Cinque x cinque venticinque (1988, estimate: £550,000-750,000). Read vertically, each panel spells out the work’s title, ‘five x five twenty-five’, while also performing the square multiplication it describes. Tutto (1988, estimate: £400,000-600,000) is an entrancing work from Alighiero Boetti’s extraordinary late series of the same name. Standing among the last embroidered works he ever produced, these dazzling tapestries served not only as summations of his oeuvre, but also sought to visualise the ‘everything-ness’ of human experience. The selection also pays tribute to Boetti’s early career, featuring the 1967 works Rosso Gilera 60 1232 Beige and Sabbia 583 (estimate: £300,000-500,000). Part of the artist’s seminal series of Vernici industriali, each consists of a square board affixed with cork letters, which spell out the name and code of the industrial automobile paint with which it has been coated.

Rosso Gilera 60 1232 and Beige Sabbia 583 (1967: estimate: £300,000-500,000)

Tessa Lord, Director, Senior Specialist, Post-War and Contemporary Art, Christie’s London: “We are delighted to be able to showcase this remarkable group of works by Alighiero Boetti that bring his enigmatic observations to the fore. From early works which capture the burgeoning spirit of the Arte Povera movement, through some of Boetti’s most iconic series including Mappe, Arazzi, Biro, Aerei and Tutto, to pieces created just years before his death in 1994, this exhibition coincides with the 30^th anniversary of the artist's death and is testament to Boetti’s lifelong practice, questioning the mysteries and contradictions of human existence. With selected works being offered as part of the upcoming March season, this exhibition paints a rich and lucid picture of an artist who spent his life ‘giving time to time’, reconciling ‘order and disorder’, and ‘bringing the world into the world’—mettere al mondo il mondo.”

Mariolina Bassetti, Chairman, Post-War and Contemporary Art, Continental Europe and Chairman, Christie’s: “Alighiero Boetti is one of Italy’s most celebrated modern masters and we are thrilled to honour his artistic legacy through the exhibition of such a seminal group of works, capturing his extraordinary vision of the world.” 

ABEEGHIIILOORTT (1973, estimate: £80,000-120,000) and Tutto (1988, estimate: £400,000-600,000)

The Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale in London on 9 March will include ABEEGHIIILOORTT (1973, estimate: £80,000-120,000), Senza titolo (Speciale Dali') (1991, estimate: £30,000-50,000), Ammazzare il tempo (1979, estimate: £30,000-50,000), Faccine colorate (1979, estimate: £35,000-55,000), Il Silenzio è d’Oro (1988, £25,000-35,000) and Manifesto (1967-70, estimate: £8,000-12,000).