Fire Island Story 2009

Gianfranco Baruchello made this assemblage “Fire Island Story” from objects and drawings within a wooden box. It looks like the inside of a quirky but brilliant mind. I can imagine Baruchello reaching for a pen, sketching out connections between disparate images. He probably liked to work in a back and forth fashion, layering ideas. There's something about the intimacy of this collection – the palm of a hand, the tiny soldiers, the rows of colors – that feels like a peek into someone's personal world. I'm reminded of other artists, like Joseph Cornell, who created similar kinds of memory boxes. This tradition of collecting and arranging objects speaks to a desire to make sense of the world, to find connections between the ordinary and the extraordinary. It’s like the artist is saying, "Here's what I'm thinking about. What do you think?" I love that invitation. It’s an opening for a conversation, and after all, art is about conversation and exchange.