Alighiero Fabrizio Boetti was born on December 16, 1940 in Turin. He is the second son of Corrado Boetti, a lawyer, and Adalgisa Marchisio, a violinist. After leaving his studies in Business Administration in 1955, he approached art as a self-taught artist. His early influences were the artistic and cultural life of the Piedmontese capital, American Abstract Expressionism, Lucio Fontana’s Spatialism, and the work of artists such as Henri Michaux and Giacomo Balla. After marrying critic Annemarie Sauzeau, he moved to Paris between 1963 and 1964. During this period, he was captivated by the works of Nicolas de Stael, Jean Dubuffet, and André Malraux.
In January 1967, Boetti’s first solo exhibition took place at the Christian Stein Gallery in Turin. It presented a selection of works focused on an object such the 
Lampada annuale (1966). His experimentation with materials as significant elements, and their ability to generate imagery, led critic Germano Celant to include Boetti’s work in the Arte Povera movement, outlined in a 1967 essay-manifesto published in Flash Art magazine. Boetti actively engaged with the Piedmont Poveristi group, participating in significant artistic events such as Arte povera-IM spazio at La Bertesca gallery in Genoa, 1967; Arte Povera + Azioni Povere at the Ancient Arsenals of the Republic of Amalfi, 1968. However, he maintained an independent stance, which eventually led him to pursue his artistic endeavors outside the confines of the movement. In 1969 he contributed to the famous exhibition When Attitudes Become Form, curated by Harald Szeemann in Bern, London and Krefeld. In 1974 he opened the first solo exhibition organized by a public institution at the Kunstmuseum in Lucerne. During this period, Boetti delved into a novel exploration of his own identity: the emergence of the artist’s duality, where Alighiero & Boetti manifested as distinct yet interconnected entities. Between 1969 and 1970, he pioneered the concept of Viaggi postali, an instrument that extended the temporal and spatial life or art works, fundamentally questioning the traditional notion of authorship.
In the early 1970s, the artist carried out taxonomic studies in collaboration with his wife to map and enumerate rivers around the world. This research was the base of his solo exhibition at Franz Paludetto’s Turin gallery in 1983.
From 1971 to 1979, Boetti embarked on frequent journeys to Afghanistan, specifically to Kabul, where he co-managed the One Hotel alongside Gholam Dastaghir, transforming it into a hub for his artistic creations. During this period, a profound evolution in Boetti’s approach to artistic creation unfolded. Here, the concept of authorship intertwined with collaborative and repetitive artisanal processes, giving rise to the iconic textile works commissioned from Afghan embroiderers, who emerged as genuine co-authors of his pieces, notably the Mappe; Ricami. In 1972, Boetti and his family relocated to Rome, where he established his studio-workshop in Piazza Sant’Apollonia, situated in the Trastevere district. During this period, Boetti introduced his pioneering pen-filled works, employing backgrounds filled with pens as a canvas for an encrypted messaging system. In the same year, he showcased his art at Documenta 5 in Kassel and the 10th Quadriennale Nazionale d’Arte in Rome.The early 1970s also witnessed the inception of Boetti’s embroidery works, where he innovatively “squared” language. Pieces such as Ordine e disordine, 1973; Segno e disegno, 1977; Dare tempo al tempo, 1977) deconstructed language into its elemental components, arranging them within a grid that defied conventional linguistic structures.
In 1978, Boetti unveiled his retrospective exhibition curated by Jean-Christophe Ammann at the Kunsthalle Basel, featuring notable works like Aerei (1977). Despite the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Boetti persisted in his processing chains for the Mappe and Ricami, diversifying his artistic pursuits to include works on paper, linguistic exercises, and personal narratives. In 1983, Boetti collaborated with Afghan refugee weavers in Peshawar, Pakistan, giving rise to the remarkable series titled Tutto. These tapestries depicted everyday objects densely packed across their entire surface, reflecting Boetti’s innovative approach. In February 1993, Boetti’s final solo exhibition took place in Italy at the Christian Stein Gallery, the same venue that had hosted his inaugural solo show. He passed away in Rome on April 24, 1994.