Nairy Baghramian:
Sitzengebliebene
(Stay Downers)

In June 2023, the Aspen Art Museum opened Jupon de Corps, a solo exhibition by Berlin-based artist Nairy Baghramian (b. 1971, Isfahan, Iran), recipient of the 2023 Aspen Award for Art. On the occasion of the exhibition, Baghramian developed a new suite of sculptures conceived for the museum’s outdoor commons.

Continuing the artist’s ongoing series titled Sitzengebliebene (Stay Downers), this group of sculptures—Booger, Lulatsch, and Muddlehead—exits the museum’s indoor spaces and mingles with the pedestrians. While not defined by figurative qualities, the sculptures nevertheless convey bodily attitudes and human characteristics through the relationship that their bulbous shapes establish with each other and the surrounding environment.

With their rounded, supple corners, Baghramian’s Stay Downers stand out against the backdrop of the museum’s gridded architecture. Extending the artist’s exhibition into a public commons, these sculptures become citizens, introducing a spirit of unexpected camaraderie with passersby.