Current Exhibition: Andrée Putman
Produced by Christopher Farr for London 100% Design
26th September - 28th September 2003

The grand dame of design, Andrée Putman, has come up with a lighthearted, but sophisticated collection of carpets for the Christopher Farr Company, leading producers of luxury handwoven contemporary art carpets. There are five geometrically inspired designs in the collection, which will be on view at:

6 Burnsall Street SW3 during this year's 100% Design show.

"I chose to play with circles and squares and straight lines. And colour - just to tease those who think I reject it," says Putman, who cleverly named the collection Private Jokes. "There are arrangements of lines, round and colored chips, sequences of checks ... I have been enchanted playing with these joyful, yet wise elements, which belong in all sorts of places. In cozy nests or zen temples, they bring light and fun."

Putman, who was first introduced to Farr in New York a few years ago, immediately recognized his talents as an artist and his ability to translate painterly concepts to rug designs. She also became aware of the Christopher Farr company's capabilities of producing hand-knotted rugs with an attention to high quality and accuracy in design detail and color.
The book opened a dialogue between the art rug creator and the iconic design figure, and she came up with a concept for the collection based on her predilection for "geometry and order."

For Putman, rugs "can suggest and define a space. Its proportions are significant ... It is important to allow the rug to fulfill its role of enhancing the general context, whether modest or magnificent, to be inviting yet independent of its function, to create grammar for, or to punctuate, the environment."

The Christopher Farr company produces more than 10 different contemporary rug collections. ³We have always been interested in working with designers and artists who can bring a new perspective and dimension to the work we do," says Bourne, who oversees the production of the carpets. "Andree's particular style of restrained modernism acts as a perfect counterbalance to some of the more abstract or pattern-orientated artists we have worked with."

For further information please contact Matthew Bourne at Christopher Farr Gallery, tel: 020 7349 0888
e-mail: Matthew Bourne