Meet the Artists | Nairy Baghramian

Why It Matters

Baghramian’s approach reshapes public art by marrying functional design with material autonomy, influencing how cities commission works that engage audiences without imposing narratives.

Key Takeaways

• Art must resist difficult times and survive cultural rejection.
• Playfulness balances seriousness, allowing work to remain earnest yet approachable.
• Props become autonomous objects, rejecting the artist’s narrative projection.
• Basel fountain bench offers public rest and optional engagement with art.
• Artists should respect material autonomy, turning away to avoid domination.

Summary

Nairy Baghramian, a multidisciplinary artist, discusses how art must act as a resilient force during turbulent cultural moments, emphasizing that it often faces rejection yet must persist. She frames her practice as a dialogue between playfulness and seriousness, allowing work to stay earnest without becoming overly solemn.

Baghramian distinguishes between narrative-driven props and autonomous objects, arguing that sculptures should resist the artist’s imposed story and instead assert their own material agency. She describes her recent commission—a 48‑meter spine‑like bench in front of Basel’s 60‑meter fountain—as a functional artwork that invites the public to rest, engage, or simply pass by, embodying her belief that art should be optional, not obligatory.

Memorable remarks include, “Wherever there is beauty, there are flies,” underscoring the inevitability of imperfections, and “Turn your back, use it, don’t misuse it,” a mantra for respecting material autonomy. She likens the artist‑material relationship to an affair, urging periodic disengagement to prevent domination.

The conversation highlights a shift toward public art that prioritizes user experience and material honesty, offering curators and city planners a model for installations that serve both aesthetic and communal functions while preserving the integrity of the medium.

Original Description

_Art Basel's 'Meet the artists' series presents contemporary creatives shaping today's cultural landscape_

The Berlin-based sculptor on why great art resists the artist's hand – and endures on its own terms

Nairy Baghramian makes sculptures that resist easy resolution – works that balance fragility against structure, humor against critique, and the artist's hand against the autonomy of the object itself. Born in Iran and based in Berlin since the 1980s, she draws on architecture, design, and performance to question how objects relate to the spaces and people around them. 'I understood very early on the difference between an artwork and the idea of a prop. A prop on the stage is the result of a narration. An artwork, however, contains the narration within itself,' she says in the film. Throughout this episode of ‘Meet the artists’, she reveals a practice grounded not in mastery, but in curiosity – one that embraces the possibility of turning away from what is familiar to see it anew.

In 2025, Baghramian was named a Gold Awardee in the inaugural Art Basel Awards, which led to the commission of Modèle vivant (S'empilant),(2026), a large-scale site-responsive installation for the Messeplatz fountain in front of the Swiss fair. Conceived specifically for the public square, the work extends across the 60-meter-long fountain and incorporates a 48-meter sculptural bench that welcomes Art Basel visitors and residents alike to pause for a moment. The installation combines Baghramian's signature biomorphic forms and geometric support structures to create what she describes in the film as 'a release for the busy art audience' – a place where people can simply rest, wait for a tram, or engage with the artwork on their own terms. The commission reflects her longstanding interest in the relationship between sculpture and site.

Nairy Baghramian is represented by Marian Goodman Gallery and Hauser & Wirth. Her new installation -_Modèle vivant (S'empilant)_ is on view on the Messeplatz during Art Basel in Basel 2026.

Director Roshan Bayesteh

DOP Alex Brack

Editor & Colorist Hanno Mertin

Score Robert Dietz

Camera Operator Nicole Medvecka

Sound Recordist Mika Bretschneider

Mix & Master Studio Teiwas

Motion Designer Andi Stepanchuk

Production Company Targa Film

Assistant Producer Lena Schütte

Hair & Makeup Artist Vivien Berenice Mangin

Art Basel

Senior Editor Alicia Reuter

Creative Producer Akiel Gallina

Editorial Assistant Lama Yaghi

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