Marian Goodman Gallery extends our congratulations to Nairy Baghramian and Kistefos Museum on the occasion of the installation of Resting Arms, the 56th permanent work in Kistefos's sculpture park, which also marks the artist's inaugural commission in Northern Europe.

The sculpture is a highly abstracted portrait of primary joints in the body made in white Carrara marble and steel. By highlighting the vulnerability of the human form, Baghramian challenges these traditional sculptural materials’ typical connotations of durability and monumentality.

The sculpture’s two blocks of marble are heavily veined and pitted on their surface, suggesting fragility, sensitivity and, in the artist’s own words, ‘possible collapse.’ They resemble arms and elbows, which the artist has given respite from centuries of upright poses and postures. Baghramian moves the joints from their typical orientation, allowing them to rest and to recover from the stress and impact of daily use. Sited on Kistefos’ terrain, the sculpture invites visitors to do the same – find a moment of contemplation and pause as the panorama of the landscape unfolds beyond.

Baghramian has exhibited widely, including recent solo shows at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Aspen Art Museum, and the Nasher Sculpture Center. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Nasher Prize (2022) and the Nivola Award for Sculpture (2023).