Alighiero Boetti

Galerie Erik Franck, Ginevra
Collezione Tonelli, Terni
Collezione privata, New York

Terni, Ronchini Arte Contemporanea, Alighiero Boetti, 1996, illustrato

Daniela Tonelli, Alighiero Boetti, Terni 1997
Jean-Christophe Ammann, Alighiero Boetti. Catalogo Generale. Tomo secondo, Milano 2012, p. 274, n. 914, illustrato

This work is in generally good overall condition. There are two patching by the upper left and by the lower right corners outside the sewed canvas. There are three single cotton threads coming out, one below the "E" of the word "PRIMAVERA", one over the second "N" of the word "ALTERNANDO" and one to the left of the "B" of the monogram "AEB".
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

"Alternando da uno a cento e viceversa” rappresenta il naturale sviluppo di alcuni lavori eseguiti su block notes da Alighiero Boetti all’inizio degli anni ’70, con cui l’artista esplora per la prima volta la scrittura in quadrato ed il fascino e le molteplici potenzialità espressive dell’azione combinatoria.
Riprendendo questo meccanismo di “alternando” di bianchi e neri messo in atto anni prima, quest’opera trova la propria cornice di riferimento all’interno di un principio caro a Boetti - le infinite possibilità di esistere.
”Alternando da uno cento e viceversa” diventa anche oggetto del Premio Ubu, indetto da Franco Quadri nel 1977, destinato a consacrare i più celebri protagonisti della scena dello spettacolo italiano.
Ognuno dei quadrati dieci per dieci viene diviso a sua volta in cento quadratini, e agli esecutori dell’opera, sempre casuali, terzi sconosciuti, vengono fornite solo le istruzioni sul numero di quadratini da annerire e da lasciare bianchi. Sono poi il caso e la libera immaginazione degli esecutori a realizzarne la disposizione e collettivamente ad articolarne poi la composizione. Nessuna combinazione sarà quindi mai uguale ad un’altra.
E’ poi affascinante osservare come ogni colonna vista dall’alto verso il basso dia vita ad un progressivo svanire del nero in favore del bianco e viceversa.
Ma aldilà della trama visiva, bella senza volerlo, questo lavoro è una riflessione sul caso, sulla modularità e sull’azione combinatoria e a come questi tre elementi insieme compongano una sinfonia armonica spontanea.

Alternating  one to one hundred and vice versa is the natural outcome of a process that Boetti started out on block notes from the beginning of the Seventies. The artist explores for the first time the experience of writing within a square, the charm and multiple potentials enhanced by the action of combination.
Taking the mechanism of alternating the white and black areas of the surface, a method that he had enterprised some years before, this work can be re allocated within a theme dear to the artist, the infinite possibilities of existence.
Alternating one to one hundred, became the source from which the Ubu award was taken. The Ubu award, made for the main Italian performing artists  was inaugurated by the theatre critic Franco Quadri in 1977.
Each one of the squares that measure ten by ten, is divided into 100 smaller squares, and to the executors of the work, always unknown and chosen by chance, the only instruction given is which squares are meant to be filled up and which need to be left void. The executors’ imagination and the chance, lead to the work’s disposition and the cumulative work  arrange the final composition: none of the combinations will be like one another. 
It is interesting to notice how each column seen from the top to the bottom gives life to a progressive fainting of the black leading to the white and vice versa.
But beyond the beauty of the visual impact, which is beautiful with no desire to be so, this work makes the viewer think of the importance of chance, modularity and combinatory action, and on how these three principles put together compose a spontaneous and yet harmonic symphony.

Corinna Turati