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Nairy Baghramian

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Nairy Baghramian
Born1971 (age 52–53)
Isfahan, Imperial State of Iran (now Iran)
EducationBerlin University of the Arts
MovementModernism, Abstract art, Post-minimalism, Minimalism

Nairy Baghramian (born 1971) is an Iranian-born German visual artist, of Armenian ethnicity.[1] Since 1984, she has lived and worked in Berlin.[1][2] When the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum selected Baghramian as a finalist for the 2020 Hugo Boss Prize, they described Baghramian’s statues as: "...[Exploring] the workings of the body, gender, and public and private space."[3]

Early life and education[edit]

Baghramian was born in 1971, in Isfahan, Imperial State of Iran (now Iran),[1] the youngest child in an Armenian Iranian family.[4] She and her mother flew to East Berlin in 1984, when she was 13,[5] and later reunited in West Berlin with their family.[1][6] She attended Berlin University of the Arts (Universität der Künste Berlin).[6][7]

In addition to her artistic practice, Baghramian worked at the women’s shelter that her sister Louise co-founded.[8]

Work[edit]

Baghramian captures fleeting human poses in traditional materials such as marble and steel.[9] Inspired by dance classes she took as a child, Baghramian recalls her teacher speaking of the need to break down human movement into discrete elements.[3][9] Her work depicts abstract forms of bodies or body parts, often contemplating the brokenness or "prosthetic" relationship between the body and its environment.[10][11] In the Guggenheim video, Baghramian explains that sometimes she builds on the idea of "looking at something and feeling pity for it."[3] In addition, her work creates an interplay between the work itself and the spaces in which it exists.

For the Berlin Biennial she collaborated with ninety-eight-year-old designer Janette Laverrière to create a set for her furniture design.[12][13]

In 2017, Baghramian's exhibition, Déformation Professionnelle was on display in the Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst.[14] This exhibition is the culmination of the artist's 18 sets of works from 1999 to 2016.[14] Déformation Professionnelle exhibits the artist's oeuvre while alluding to existing works in her field. By using sculpture elements and photography in a site-responsive practice, she questions the traditional views towards the relationship between the human body's gestures and their functions.[15]

Recognition[edit]

In 2021, Baghramian received the 2022 Nasher Prize presented by the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas.[16] She was later a member of the juries that selected Senga Nengudi (2023)[17] and Otobong Nkanga (2024)[18] for the Nasher Prize.

Exhibitions[edit]

Awards[edit]

  • 2022 - Nasher Prize, Dallas Texas;[16]
  • 2020 - Hugo Boss Prize;[21]
  • 2016 – Zurich Art Prize, Zurich, Switzerland;[22]
  • 2014 – Arnold-Bode Prize, Kassel, Germany;
  • 2012 – Hector Prize, Kunsthalle Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany;
  • 2007 – Ernst Schering Foundation Award

Personal life[edit]

Baghramian has been in a relationship with art dealer Michel Ziegler.[23]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Sherwin, Skye (9 December 2009). "Artist of the week 67: Nairy Baghramian". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  2. ^ Hermes, Manfred (May 2007). "Nairy Baghramian". Frieze. No. 107. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  3. ^ a b c Guggenheim Museum (5 October 2020). "Nairy Baghramian: Hugo Boss Prize 2020 Nominee". YouTube. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  4. ^ Siddhartha Mitter (6 September 2023), A Sculptor Breaks Through, Taking the Walls Down With Her New York Times.
  5. ^ Siddhartha Mitter (6 September 2023), A Sculptor Breaks Through, Taking the Walls Down With Her New York Times.
  6. ^ a b Kulturspiegel: das Programm-Magazin (in German). Spiegel-Verlag. 2007. p. 28.
  7. ^ Mitter, Siddhartha (6 September 2023). "A Sculptor Breaks Through, Taking the Walls Down With Her". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  8. ^ Siddhartha Mitter (6 September 2023), A Sculptor Breaks Through, Taking the Walls Down With Her New York Times.
  9. ^ a b "Hugo Boss Prize 2020 Nominee Nairy Baghramian on Her Creative Process". The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  10. ^ Stakemeier, Kerstin (April 2017). "Kerstin Stakemeier on Nairy Baghramian". www.artforum.com. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Nairy Baghramian: Ambivalent Abstraction". ocula.com. 10 March 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  12. ^ Allsop, Laura (2009). "Butcher, Baker... Artist?". Art Review. 37.
  13. ^ Heiser, Jorg (May 2010). "Room to Live". Frieze. No. 131.
  14. ^ a b "Nairy Baghramian .Déformation Professionnelle". smak. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  15. ^ "S.M.K.A." e-flux.
  16. ^ a b "Nairy Baghramian Awarded 2022 Nasher Prize for Sculpture". Art Forum. 14 September 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  17. ^ Maximilíano Durón (21 September 2022), Groundbreaking Artist Senga Nengudi Wins $100,000 Nasher Prize ARTnews.
  18. ^ Maximilíano Durón (5 October 2023), Otobong Nkanga Wins $100,000 Nasher Prize for Sculpture ARTnews.
  19. ^ "SFMOMA Announces SOFT POWER — International Contemporary Exhibition Featuring New Commissions and Recent Work by 20 Artists". www.sfmoma.org. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Nairy Baghramian". www.documenta14.de. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  21. ^ Williams, Maxwell (19 November 2019). "Meet the 6 Rising-Star Artists Competing for the Coveted $100,000 Hugo Boss Prize". artnetnews. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  22. ^ "Nairy Baghramian. Misfits". Fondazione Furla. 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  23. ^ Siddhartha Mitter (6 September 2023), A Sculptor Breaks Through, Taking the Walls Down With Her New York Times.

Further reading[edit]

  • Kostas Prapoglu (20 September 2016). "Nairy Baghramian". The Seen.
  • Kevin McGarry (28 January 2013). "Nairy Baghramian at Sculpture Center". T Magazine.
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