Bagno A 1977

Gianfranco Baruchello made this, Bagno A, from who-knows-what, and when-does-it-matter, nestled inside a shiny box. He's a bit of a Duchampian trickster, I reckon. There's something so tender about this object, its careful construction of found parts, like it’s breathing new life into old junk. The grid is so present; it dominates the back. Its off-white surface has a kind of handmade feel and seems to absorb any light that falls upon it, which gives the work an uncanny feel. Then the pictures - they are tiny! Are they windows? Or screens? I find myself wanting to look closer, to understand the relationship between the structure and the image, but the perspex feels like a barrier. Maybe Baruchello is nudging us to question the easy answers, and to value the weirdness and wonderfulness of not knowing. Like art is a continual conversation that isn’t finished, and never will be.