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12012017 'Woven Forms' Carpet Art Exhibit Travels to Domotex

By Howard Tisch
12/1/2017
'WOVEN FORMS' CARPET ART EXHIBIT TRAVELS TO DOMOTEX


New York gallery R & Company curates an artist driven area rug exhibit with Italian Amini Carpets now on display in NYC and soon heading to Domotex. Shown, Retold by Dana Barnes. 

NEW YORK -- Pushing the boundaries of carpet art, a special exhibition of rugs designed by the likes of Thaddeus Wolfe and Wendell Castle travels to Domotex 2018 in Hannover, Germany, following New York City and Venice premieres.

 

A collaboration between New York art gallery R & Company and Italian carpet atelier Amini Carpets, Woven Forms is currently on show in Tribeca as an appointment-only pop-up exhibition through Dec. 31. Featuring rugs by 10 renowned artists, the show will debut to a larger international audience at the Amini booth in the new Hall 9, Stand S02 at Domotex, running from Jan. 12-15.


"Woven Forms explores the history of the carpet making processes from India and Nepal and challenges the limits of the craft and the industry by offering some of the design world's greatest talents the opportunity to explore their ideas within the medium of textiles," noted Evan Snyderman, partner of R & Company, curator of the exhibition.



Above and below, fiber and textile artist Dana Barnes selected antique Persian rugs from Amini's extensive collection and created a custom technique to bond layers of wool fibers onto the surface. Top image courtesy Joe Kramm/R & Company


The designers participating in Woven Forms include glass sculpturer Thaddeus Wolfe, furniture artist Katie Stout, toy designer Renate Müller, abstract painter Lluís Lleó, ceramics artist Hun-Chung Lee, sculpturer Rogan Gregory, furniture maker Wendell Castle, fiber/textile artist Dana Barnes, furniture and object designers the Haas Brothers and decorative artist David Wiseman. 

"We invited ten different designers to create these area rugs and each had a unique approach," Gabriella Picone told RugNews.com during a private viewing of the exhibition. "For almost all of the designers, this is the first time they have worked in this material and it presented them with an opportunity to think in a new medium and to think about their studio practice in different way."

Right in line with the upcoming Domotex fair's "Unique Youniverse" keynote theme focusing on the product individualization megatrend, each rug in the Woven Forms exhibit is a limited edition piece that took roughly six months to produce.


Above and below, the Paradise design by David Wiseman, a maker of limited edition objects and architectural installations, part of the Woven Forms exhibit curated by R& Company with rugs produced by Amini Carpets.


All of the area rugs break the longstanding tradition of artists making carpets by printing a preexisting painting, drawing or photograph on a rug. Rather, each artist has created a unique design that considers the form, material and process while simultaneously reflecting their individual styles. 


Celebrated American furniture maker Wendell Castle based his brush-strokes inspired area rug designs, above
 and detail below, on small paintings he produced. Top image courtesy Joe Kramm/R & Company.


The artists were chosen to participate in this project because of their unique talents and their interest in experimentation, 
Snyderman stated. The resulting collection pushes the boundaries of the medium, creating an extraordinary collaboration with the weavers themselves, who rediscovered ancient processes as well as new techniques and ways of making in order to realize these designs, he added.

Above and below. toy designer Renate Müller creates a refined geometric area rug-- one of which features some of her beloved animal characters. Images courtesy Joe Kramm/R & Company.



Haas Brothers toy with the idea of a classic animal hide by designing a series of rugs that feature their playful animal characters in bright colors. Wendell Castle's area rugs, with their detailed carving, mimic large colorful brush strokes. David Wiseman's design features ornate details and meticulous patterns often found in his sculptural pieces. Rogan Gregory utilizes a unique carving technique in which he is able to manipulate the carpet's surface texture. Hun-Chung Lee presents a bold colorful rug with a sculptural relief addition. Lluís Lleó presents a series of rugs that mirror his soft abstract paintings. Renate Müller creates refined geometric carpets that feature some of her beloved animal characters. Thaddeus Wolfe's works have sharp patterns similar to those found in his intricate glass works. Katie Stout's rug reflects her playful style with a jungle-like landscape of colorful fruits and plants. And finally, Dana Barnes builds upon an antique oriental rug by using an artisanal approach to alter the texture by knotting, braiding, felting and twisting techniques.


Above, in the foreground, Rogan Gregory's carved Primordial Plane features cutouts. Hanging on the back wall, left, is Thaddeus Wolfe's Untitled geometric area rug, and on right (and below), Flyer by Lluís Lleó. Top i
mage courtesy Joe Kramm/R & Company.

Woven Forms, which debuted earlier this year in Venice to coincide with the 57th International Art Exhibition, includes an extensive catalogue and a short documentary film (click here to view) that tells the comprehensive story behind the limited edition works. It is currently on view at a pop-up gallery at 64 Franklin Street by appointment only. Contact R & Company at 212.343.7979 for further details.

Above, on the right Rupia by Spanish artist  Lluís Lleó and in the rear, left, glass sculpturer Thaddeus Wolfe's Untitled greet gallery visitors.

Above and below, Spanish artist Lluís Lleó's Morpho Helena is handmade in a Soumak weave of wool and silk.


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