“....If the idealizing view of the idea of a work’s autonomy effectively renders that work a subject in its own right, the structures surrounding the work of art—of which we, as beholders, are part—come under threat; we are as though under the work’s spell, responding to it like schizophrenics. At the same time, there is the danger that the art critic comes to believe that it is enough to negotiate matters in intimate exchange with the work alone: now it speaks for itself, now it is part of his or her concept: the work of art becomes a projection screen that talks back. This is necessary but should only be a starting point. ..“

Nairy Baghramian is a Berlin-based artist known for her sculptural installations and photographs. Selected solo exhibitions include: Formage de tête, Galerie Buchholz, Berlin (2011); The Serpentine Gallery, London (2010); Butcher, Barber, Angler & others, Studio Voltaire, London (2009); The Walker’s Day Off, Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden (2008), Affairen. Ein semiotisches Haus, das nie gebaut wurde, Neuer Aachener Kunstverein (2008); Es ist ausser Haus, Kunsthalle Basel (2006). She has also taken part in numerous group exhibitions at Biennale di Venezia, Venice (2011); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (2011); Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Montréal (2010); Museum Ludwig, Köln (2010); Tate Modern, London (2008) and at Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin (2008).