We are delighted to announce that Siah Armajani's major work Room for Migrant Worker (2016) has been acquired by the Phoenix Art Museum. It will be featured in the ongoing exhibition The Collection: 1960 – Now which showcases the museum's modern and contemporary collection.
In 2015, Central Europe experienced a huge influx of migrants due to the conflicts in Syria and other zones. In August 2015, police in Hungary found 71 decomposing bodies in an abandoned truck near an Austrian village. The victims came from Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Iran, including 59 men, 8 women, and 4 children, crammed into the back of a small Volvo lorry with only enough room for standing, the victims are believed to have suffocated less than three hours after it set off. The tragic event inspired Armajani to create the series titled Seven Rooms of Hospitality, and Room for Migrant Worker is one of the 'rooms' that respond to the global refugee crisis and the indeterminate spaces its victims are forced to navigate.
Notably, the exhibition places a specific focus on artists who have been historically overlooked, including women and artists of color. The artworks are organized thematically, allowing visitors to consider how different generations of artists have expanded and challenged 20th-century art movements such as Abstract Expressionism, Light and Space, Transcendentalism, Pop, Minimalism, and Conceptual art.
The Collection: 1960 – Now will be on view from 15 August, 2024
