Siah Armajani

“Tomb Series”

Alexander Gray Associates

October 27—December 17, 2016

In his second exhibition at Alexander Gray Associates, Iranian-born artist Siah Armajani presents works from his ongoing Tomb Series, in which the Minnesota-based artist has been paying homage to numerous activists, philosophers, and authors he is heavily influenced by since the ‘70s. Rather than typical relics fully or partially depicting the referent individual, the artist’s solemn three dimensional works silently commemorate an influential figure, not only for Armajani’s career, but for many others’. 

Siah Armajani, Tomb for Neema, 2012

“In Iran, we didn’t have any experiences except memories,” said the artist in an interview with Hans Ulrich Obrist in 2012 at Serpentine Gallery, “and from time to time, instances of time and reality to make sure the rest is all memories.” His fascination with complicating the separation between past and present for this reason claims a major portion of Armajani’s ambitious practice. With their architectural and monumental presence, his mixed-media installations and drawings orchestrate interdisciplinary and intergenerational dialogues, bridging various historic and cultural anecdotes and figures in singular bodies. This timely exhibition precedes the artist’s upcoming retrospective at the Walker Art Center.