TREND SETTING HIGH DESIGN RUGS
INSPIRED BY  WORLD OF MODERN ART

By Carol Tisch

"Art for the Floor" has long been the mantra of contemporary fine rug designers, but the outlook for 2005 is more artsy than ever before.  The rug business has become a magnet for fine artists, whose impact is seen in color, yarn blending and weaving innovations.

The painterly trend encompasses brush-stroke effects, pop art, bold colors and abstract designs. Even high end rug makers with huge traditional assortments are beefing up their contemporary offerings to reflect the swing to contemporary artistry.

The shift to contemporary styling at the high end of the market is part of a growing consumer interest in individuality in the home. Today's  high style rug designers are increasingly  aware that people want to make a personal statement in their homes.

Ft. Street Studio Horizon Berry

Fort Street Studio was founded in 1996 by husband and wife Janis Provisor and Brad Davis, both contemporary artists. When the pair traveled to China to study etching and seek new inspiration for their watercolors, the silk production in the Hangzhou region led them to collaborate with local rug weavers to translate their abstract art into woven "paintings.€VbCrLf The company, with offices in New York and Hong Kong, exclusively uses wild Dandong silk to create plush, durable rugs that when hand cut provides a suede-like finish.

 
Ft. Street Studio Sparkler
 

A pattern called Sparkler, an outlined overall floral design, illustrates the Eastern etching techniques, which in Fort Street Studio's hands becomes a new medium for understated flooring elegance. The bleeding of colors, whether in Rauschenberg-style abstracts or the couple's unique study of flower petals, is masterfully achieved in the woven rugs to give each a one-off sophistication and watercolor feel. With up to four colors for each strand of yarn the rugs, are indeed painterly.

 
Emma Gardner Eclipse

Working with her husband, Patrick McDarrah, in their studio in Litchfield, CT, artist Emma Gardner has perfected her own techniques with Asian floral and organic themes.  Gardner creates sketches and gouache paintings for each style and then tweaks them on professional design software to translate the flat art to the textural. Gardner works in three mediums: hand-knotted wool, hand-tufted wool and hand-knotted silk and wool combinations.

Emma Gardner Flower Field

Because the design and development company is highly regarded for its fine contemporary rugs for residential, office and hospitality spaces, Emma Gardner Design was chosen to participate in the Bombay Sapphire marketing campaign and commissioned to create a custom rug for the Anglo-Indian brand of gin. The artist created a peacock design in deep indigo, incorporating Queen Victoria's sapphire medallion and typical art elements of Indian textiles including paisleys, peacocks and botanicals.  

 
Emma Gardner Twinkle will be introduced at the New York International Contemporary Furniture Fair

 
Nanni Marquina Zoom rug to be introduced at the ICFF show in New York May 14 to 17

At recent trade fairs in Valencia and Belgium, an offbeat Spanish studio called Nanimarquina took the geometric and abstract amoeba-shaped forms so prevalent within contemporary rug design this season to the next level: they created rugs themselves in those shapes.

The Nanimarquina amoeba-like Zoom rugs will be shown next week at New York's International Contermporary Furniture Fair.

Going even further out there, Nanimarquina's Fit style features three round rugs with circular insets which €˜fit' into one another, so that the consumer has one, two or three rugs-in-one. Experimenting with materials as well as forms, Nanimarquina uses recycled bicycle tires for its Bicicleta shags rugs, and abstract floral motifs.

Angela Adams Island

Angela Adams spring/summer 2005 collection encompasses handbags as well as rugs. The curves in Adams' rugs are multileveled,  and extraordinarily large, with a wistful bow to pop art, yet totally contemporary. 

Angela Adams Raindrop

Known for her graphic wool rugs, Angela Adams has  introduced a new cotton collection in her signature patterns and rich color palette.  New designs Raindrop, Tegan and Island are available in two color ways each; prices for the cotton rugs start at $75 retail.

Angela Adams Tegan

Adams has introduced an entirely  new Islands wool rug collection in two distinct palettes: chocolate and pool blue, or moonstone and citron. The patterns are beachy and fresh, yet bold and graphic at the same time, particularly a new zigzag stripe called Wyatt.

 
Joan Weissman Pen and Ink

Among the first artists to translate her work in carpet was ceramicist and painter, Joan Weissman. Now concentrating on textile designs, Albuquerque, NM - based Weissman specializes in custom wool and silk rugs for interior designers. Her unique style features sophisticated interpretations of leaves and other natural elements, as well as purely abstract designs crafted to her specifications in Tibet or the US, depending on the weaving technique required.

 
Joan Weissman Steps

Joan Weissman's rugs also begin with gouache paintings. The transformation from a painting to a successful rug depends on thoughtful consideration of the design and surrounding architecture in relation to various weaving techniques, she says.

Joan Weissman Cherry Cherry

Some of her most soothing designs are Japanese-inspired, with names like Plum Blossom, Cherry Cherry and Shibori.

 
New Moon Full Fade

Among the best known names in fine designer rugs are New Moon and its designer, John Kurtz. The designer's secret for success appears to be an uncanny knack of creating contemporary rugs that are spare and artistic without contrivance. Rather than work too hard to deliver a modern aesthetic, New Moon rugs are understated, relying on technique of weaving as much as pattern for the overall design.

The new Fragments and Fade patterns, both in the company's  Mirage weave made from wool, silk and exotic natural fibers, are the latest examples of Kurtz' unusual aesthetic. Through its construction, Fragments presents an optical illusion of geometric broken stripes in blue, lime and silver; or rose pink, lime and silver. Fade features an ombred tonal stripe that while modern, could work in almost any décor. New Moon also offers a Classic collection of ancient motifs and designs interpreted by Kurtz, in addition to its contemporary lines.

 
New Moon Fragments

New Moon rugs, which are hand crafted in Tibet, is located in Wilmington, DE; Kurtz is an artist and nationally recognized rug historian who hosted the PBS TV series presciently titled, "Art Underfoot.€VbCrLf

 Several of the vendors discussed in this article will be exhibiting at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York, May 14 to 17, 2005.

ED NOTE: Carol Tisch is a free lance writer specializing in high design. Formerly editor-in-chief of HFN, she was most recently executive editor of Shelter Magazine.