RugLife at the Museum of Craft and Design is an original exhibition featuring the work of 14 contemporary artists who use the rug as a medium to address cultural issues such as religion, technology, social justice, housing, and the environment. Guest curated by Ginger Gregg Duggan and Judith Hoos Fox of c2-curatorsquared, the show examines this functional object-turned-art piece in its contemporary form, as it is manipulated, reinterpreted, and made new. The diverse roster of artists and designers hail from the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and work across a variety of media including yarn, cardboard, repurposed carpets, and hair combs.
Featured Artists: Nevin Aladağ, Azra Aksamija, Ali Cha’aban, Sonya Clark, Liselot Cobelens, Nicholas Galanin, Johannah Herr, Oksana Levchenya, Noelle Mason, Wendy Plomp, Stéphanie Saadé, Slavs & Tatars, Ai Weiwei, and Andrea Zittel.
The work included in RugLife is reflective of current cultural issues including those that define our culture, as expressed through the ubiquitous and accessible format of the rug. Commissioned for the Tomorrow’s Tigers project through the World Wildlife Fund, artist Ai Weiwei created “Tyger” (2022). In Tibetan culture, the tiger personifies wisdom and strength. Traditional Tibetan tiger rugs feature the actual pelt of a tiger, splayed, legs outstretched, and its face upturned from its prone pose. Weiwei’s “Tyger” turns the traditional Tibetan tiger rug on its head, upside down, arranging the tiger on his back, claws curling inward in a more defensive posture.
No matter the material, thread, or substance used, each of the rugs in the show weaves thoughtful discourse about many issues and concerns — on a global and personal scale. Whether we consider home or our place in the world, ponder the aesthetics or the ethics, there is no denying the rug continues to be a powerful vehicle for contemporary artistic expression.
RugLife is on view at the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco through April 20.
To learn more, visit sfmcd.org.
RugLife is supported as part of the Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York and made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
