Gianfranco Baruchello

Director & actor · born 29 August 1924 · Livorno, Italy

(Livorno, 1924) is a unique figure on the Italian art scene, in dialogue with the international avant-gardes, including the philosopher Jean-François Lyotard. In over 50 years of activity he has drawn, painted, written, and produced happenings, films and videos. After training in the Parisian atmosphere of nouveau réalisme, he went to New York, where he came into contact with abstract expressionism and pop art. His first solo show dates back to 1963, at Galleria La Tartaruga, also the year of his decisive meeting with Marcel Duchamp. Since 1963, the year in which he made Il grado zero del paesaggio,he has made over fifty films and videos; the best known on an international level remains La verifica incerta 1964–65, made with Alberto Grifi. In 2014–15 a retrospective of his work has been held at the Deichtorhallen Sammlung Falckenberg, Hamburg, and ZKM, Karlsruhe.

Where to start: Filming Marcel Duchamp.