Nairy Baghramian is in the Spotlight for Aspen Art Week
On view at the Aspen Art Museum (AAM) is a major exhibition of the artist Nairy Baghramian, who was recently announced as the honoree of the 2023 ArtCrush fundraising gala. Coinciding with the fundraiser and Aspen Art Week, Baghramian—who will be awarded the Aspen Award for Art at the gala on August 4—is showing new and existing works from the past decade in the exhibition “Jupon de Corps.” On view through October 22, the exhibition is found inside and out of the museum, alongside other noteworthy shows and programming happening during Aspen Art Week.
“We are thrilled to honor Nairy Baghramian with the 2023 Aspen Award for Art and look forward to her work playing a central role in our annual Aspen Art Week,” said curator Nicola Lees, the Nancy and Bob Magoon Director, and Stella Bottai, AAM Curator at Large. “The solo exhibition ‘Jupon de Corps’ will highlight Baghramian’s ongoing work in pushing the boundaries of sculpture and provoking questions about our bodies and the spaces they inhabit. We are especially pleased that a commissioned outdoor sculpture will have pride of place on the museum’s public commons as we go beyond our walls to engage the Aspen community and set the tone for Art Week.”
Installation view, Nairy Baghramian’s “Jupon de Corps,” courtesy of the artist and Aspen Art Museum.
Bodily Explorations by Nairy Baghramian in Aspen
On view through two floors of the museum, “Jupon de Corps” (a title translating to “petticoat,” referencing the artist’s focus on expressions of bodily awareness) presents a series of intriguing landscapes, comprised of Baghramian’s sculptural forms and objects. Born out of a process of experimentation concerned with prosthetics and constructions for physical corrections, the works (made of materials ranging from steel and wood to leather and wax) activate the mind’s eye as almost-recognizable forms, while also coming across as completely new abstractions. Displayed in groupings that interact with the space’s architecture, some hanging from walls and others sitting right on the floor, they pose bodily environments that draw attention to one’s physicality while experiencing the space.
Indoors, viewers will find existing work like the 2012 B 75, BH, Mod. NB, Ref. CO, MM, an aluminum and resin composition from 2014 titled French Curve, anda suite made in 2016 that suggests ideas of constriction versus release, including Headgear, Scruff of the Neck, and Chin Up (First Fitting), which resembles a type of correctional brace. Meanwhile, outdoors, Baghramian has been commissioned for an entirely new body of work especially for the museum’s common area.
Installation view, Nairy Baghramian’s “Jupon de Corps,” courtesy of the artist and Aspen Art Museum.
Also on View at the Aspen Art Museum: Florian Krewer, Zeinab Saleh, Chase Hall, and More
In addition, the Aspen Art Museum is hosting several other standout shows concurrently. Florian Krewer’s first U.S. institutional exhibition, “everybody rise” is the most comprehensive presentation of his work to date, following the artist’s practice from the present back to his graduation from Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf. In “A Lover’s Discourse,” works by artists from different generations have been displayed side-by-side, creating intriguing juxtapositions and dialogues—including contemporary names like Zeinab Saleh, Chase Hall, and Issy Wood—inspired by the eponymous book by Roland Barthes. The week will also hold an immersive performance by Matt Copson at Smuggler Mine and a list of talks, performances, and other events hosted by AAM.
Installation view, Nairy Baghramian’s “Jupon de Corps,” courtesy of the artist and Aspen Art Museum.
Installation view, Nairy Baghramian’s “Jupon de Corps,” courtesy of the artist and Aspen Art Museum.
Installation view, Nairy Baghramian’s “Jupon de Corps,” courtesy of the artist and Aspen Art Museum.
