Lot 3452 - A197 PostWar & Contemporary - Thursday, 01. July 2021, 05.00 PM
ALIGHIERO BOETTI
(Turin 1940–1994 Rome)
Aerei. 1984.
Biro on paper on canvas (triptych).
Signed, dated and inscribed on the reverse of the centre panel: Alighiero Boetti 1984 3 fogli inseparabili.
70 × 150 cm (each panel 70 × 50 cm).
With the confirmation of authenticity by the Archivio Alighiero Boetti, 11 March 2021. This work is recorded there under the number: 9760.
Provenance:
- Galerie Susan Wyss, Zurich.
- Purchased from the above by the present owner, since then private collection Switzerland.
"... I would like to have an assistant draw a thousand planes on a sheet with a background bluer than the sky of the nativity scene. They would be precisely executed, drawn from all perspectives and angles, evoking desire. It must be an explosion!" Alighiero Boetti
In 1977, in a collaborative project, the artist Alighiero Boetti and the architect and cartoonist Guido Fuga produced a triptych of aeroplanes strewn against a blue background. Having always been fascinated by aeroplanes, Boetti took up this idea and employed it in his series "Aerei".
Countless aeroplanes of different ages, sizes and types are scattered crisscross over the deep blue sky. They fly in different directions, some out of the picture, some towards the viewer. A picture puzzle of aviation history.
The individual aeroplanes are to be found in all works of this series, but the colour of the background, the painting technique, the size, and the person making the work always differ.
Boetti believed in the concept of shared creativity and so it were often his assistants, but also untrained participants, who painted the aeroplanes or even part of the background. At the same time, of course, he was questioning the relationship between artist and authorship.
The opposition of order and chaos plays a major role in Boetti’s work and is skilfully implemented in the "Aerei". Against the calm, structured background he has placed the jumble of aeroplanes. While the background is accurately and evenly painted, there do not seem to be any specifications for the aircraft. The viewer is faced with the challenge of finding their way around the picture and so is immersed in the cosmos created by Boetti.
Provenance:
- Galerie Susan Wyss, Zurich.
- Purchased from the above by the present owner, since then private collection Switzerland.
"... I would like to have an assistant draw a thousand planes on a sheet with a background bluer than the sky of the nativity scene. They would be precisely executed, drawn from all perspectives and angles, evoking desire. It must be an explosion!" Alighiero Boetti
In 1977, in a collaborative project, the artist Alighiero Boetti and the architect and cartoonist Guido Fuga produced a triptych of aeroplanes strewn against a blue background. Having always been fascinated by aeroplanes, Boetti took up this idea and employed it in his series "Aerei".
Countless aeroplanes of different ages, sizes and types are scattered crisscross over the deep blue sky. They fly in different directions, some out of the picture, some towards the viewer. A picture puzzle of aviation history.
The individual aeroplanes are to be found in all works of this series, but the colour of the background, the painting technique, the size, and the person making the work always differ.
Boetti believed in the concept of shared creativity and so it were often his assistants, but also untrained participants, who painted the aeroplanes or even part of the background. At the same time, of course, he was questioning the relationship between artist and authorship.
The opposition of order and chaos plays a major role in Boetti’s work and is skilfully implemented in the "Aerei". Against the calm, structured background he has placed the jumble of aeroplanes. While the background is accurately and evenly painted, there do not seem to be any specifications for the aircraft. The viewer is faced with the challenge of finding their way around the picture and so is immersed in the cosmos created by Boetti.
CHF 200 000 / 300 000 | (€ 206 190 / 309 280)
Sold for CHF 366 300 (including buyer’s premium)
All information is subject to change.