kurimanzutto presents a pairing of works by Nairy Baghramian and Gabriel Kuri. Nairy Baghramian explores forms and concepts inherited from the history of art to address issues of functionality, decoration, abstraction and feminism. Her work offers a reflection on the incessant cycle of aesthetic object production, cultivating an interest in marginalized art forms and spaces that are often considered territory of the “feminine”. For kurimanzutto out east, Baghramian presents a suite of three works: Gorge (triple bend), Mooring (standing), and Piff Paff (b). Made from a wide range of materials, including aluminum, silicon, resin and fabric, these works by Baghramian bring art historical references into the realm of the subjective: the human body is dismantled and recombined through the politics of interior design. The result offers a re-reading of the legacy of Minimalism and Surrealism in the shape of organic forms, tubular casings, enlarged organs and body parts. Instability, also a recurrent theme in Baghramian’s work, becomes evident in the use of tenuous and flimsy supports to hold and display her sculptures: dangling or leaning, always on the brink of collapse. 

Focusing on the objects and spaces that mediate human relationships, Gabriel Kuri explores the potential for transformation latent in familiar situations when observed from an unconventional angle. Playing with the principles of minimalism and the history of consumption, he integrates elements of everyday life into sculptures and collages. For kurimanzutto out east, Kuri presents three collages alongside a sculptural self-portrait. The works are each composed from the residues of human interactions - advertising flyers, receipts and tickets - brought together industrial materials, such as aluminum cans and insulation rolls. Kuri draws the viewer’s attention to the dynamic and unstable space at the intersection of two opposite concepts: in the precarious and yet precise meeting of the unexpected. The creation of systems is at the core of his artistic practice, ordering different elements until certain patterns begin to emerge, and new semantic connections are generated between existing forms and their uses. Often accompanied by idioms and vernacular phrases, his pieces invite a multilayered dialogue between the verbal and the visual.