“As I see it, creativity includes things like opening a hotel in Kabul,” explained Alighiero Boetti, and he went on to realize this plan in 1971 on his second stay in Afghanistan, during which he opened the One Hotel with his friend Gholam Dastaghir. The hotel remained open for six years. Annemarie Sauzeau was married to the Italian artist for more than twenty years, and in her personal text she recounts Boetti’s time in Kabul, where she occasionally accompanied him. How was it possible to open a hotel in Afghanistan? Who were the hotel guests? What happened on a typical day in the hotel? She also describes the close relationship Boetti had with this country, where he spent at least four weeks time twice a year, and which assumed a significant role in his oeuvre, as evidenced by works like the Mappe del mondo, the Lavori postali, and numerous drawings.

Annemarie Sauzeau is an art critic, journalist, essayist, and currently the director of the Archivio Alighiero Boetti in Rome.

Language: German/English