Gesso d'Oro, 7.7 

Curator: There's something so austere and quiet about this image; it practically hums with potential. Editor: Austere, yes. We're looking at "Gesso d'Oro, 7.7" manufactured by Antonio Buonamici. This is a photograph of the stuff, right, the gesso itself, in a jar? Beside it is a standardized color checker for photographic reference. Curator: It feels like a still life, almost like a Chardin, but stripped bare, you know? All that's left is the raw material, a promise of art. Editor: Exactly. Buonamici, a manufacturer, not an artist in the traditional sense. The image throws light on the means of production, the commodification of art materials. It's gesso, ready to be transformed. Curator: It makes you think about what *is* art, doesn’t it? Is it the alchemy that happens when someone picks up that gesso and makes something new? Editor: Precisely, or is it the very materials, the labor, the entire system? It's a fascinating proposition. Curator: So much meaning in a little jar of powder. Editor: Indeed.