Tutto Boetti 1966–1993
An exhibition of works by Alighiero Boetti at Magazzino Italian Art.
Tutto Boetti 1966–1993 at Magazzino Italian Art offers a multifaceted view of Alighiero Boetti’s artistic research, tracing its development from early experiments in Turin in the 1960s to the large-scale works of his maturity. The show presents approximately 30 works by the artist, beginning with a core group from the museum’s permanent collection, including a selection of early works from the 1960s, alongside loans from the Boetti estate and an important private collection.
The exhibition will be complemented by a symposium on April 25, featuring leading curators, critics, and artists invited to reflect on Boetti’s legacy, affirming his central role as one of the most influential figures in the history of contemporary art. The symposium is organized in collaboration with the Fondazione Alighiero e Boetti in Rome.
The show begins with one of the founding groupings from Magazzino’s collection: a selection of artworks Boetti presented at his first solo exhibition at Christian Stein Gallery in Turin in 1967. Right at the entrance, visitors encounter the original invitation card Boetti created for his debut show, where he affixed samples of the materials he had used to make the works (cork, electric wire, eternit, PVC, metal, and plexiglass). The artist embraced the materials emerging from the heavy industrialization of Italian northern cities in the postwar period, which he sourced directly from hardware stores.
This early phase is followed by a series of works representative of Boetti’s Roman years, when his research expanded in multiple directions, increasingly focusing on themes of duality, authorship, and delegated execution. Exemplary of this phase is the artwork “Da mille a mille” (1975), composed of eleven sheets of graph paper on which the artist’s assistants were free to color and combine the squares according to their own choices. Also included in this section is “Mappa” from 1983, part of the celebrated series begun after Boetti’s first trip to Afghanistan in 1971.
“The historic nucleus of works by Alighiero Boetti presented here, brought together thanks to the important relationship we have developed over the years with Gianfranco Benedetti from Galleria Christian Stein, now allows for a full critical reassessment of a foundational moment in the artist’s career and in the history of Arte Povera. We are also very pleased with the collaboration of the Fondazione Alighiero e Boetti for the symposium and of all those who made significant loans possible, contributing in a substantial way to the completeness of the exhibition project.”
—Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu, co-founders of Magazzino Italian Art
The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue edited by Professor Francesco Guzzetti, including detailed entries for each work, conceived as a reference point for the study of these works and as a working tool for future scholars.
Tutto Boetti 1966–1993 will be on view at Magazzino Italian Art from April 26, 2026, through April 26, 2028.
Register for the symposium on April 25.
To learn more, visit magazzino.art.
