Nairy Baghramian at Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

Artist: Nairy Baghramian

Exhibition title: Breathing Spell

Venue: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Palacio de Cristal, Madrid, Spain

Date: May 17 – October 14, 2018

Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and ©Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid

The sculptures and installations of Nairy Baghramian revise inherited forms and concepts as they address notions such as functionality, abstraction and feminism. With a clear reference to Art History and modern architecture, notably Minimalism and Surrealism, the artist calls into question the strain that exists between aspects such as function and ornament, industry and craft, among others. Her sculptures, made of steel, resin, silicone, and leather, often assume organic forms where visible protuberances and recesses in human physiology and subjectivity, as well as interior design and decorative objects, resound.

Baghramian’s work, always fragile and poetic, alludes to feigned limits and their permeability and transition. Therefore, the Palacio de Cristal, which will house the artist’s first solo show in Spain, becomes the perfect ally in the embrace of its inner and outer shell, with the building becoming the premise of a new spatial negotiation with which to explore limits and reflect upon the instability of materials, both inside and out, in public and private spheres.

Nairy Baghramian’s work has been the subject of monographic exhibitions in an array of institutions, for instance Museu Serralves, Porto (2014), the Art Institute of Chicago (2014), Museo Tamayo, in Mexico City (2015), the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2016), and Gent’s S.M.A.K (2016). Baghramian also participated in the 54^th Venice Biennale (2011) and, more recently, at documenta 14 in Kassel and Athens (2017).

Nairy Baghramian, Breathing Spell, 2018, exhibition view, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Palacio de Cristal, Madrid, photo: Joaquin Cortes/Roman Lores