RUG LIFE

ORGANIZER AND DATES
Museum of Craft and Design 
San Francisco, California
December 14, 2024—April 20, 2025

TOUR
Winter/Spring 2025
Museum of Craft and Design, San Francisco, California
Summer 2025
Weatherspoon Art Museum, University of North Carolina, Greensboro
Fall 2025
Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Spring 2026
Pratt Manhattan Gallery, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York

DESCRIPTION
Rugs and carpets have defined the character of space since animal skins began to warm and adorn cave dwellings; the earliest known Persian rugs are nearly 2500 years old. Given this long history—entwined with religion, culture, and nature—it is not surprising that artists continue to find potential in the form of the rug. While many artists take a formal approach to the subject matter, others engage in cultural critique. It is this perspective that most interests us, when artists from around the globe take on the appropriation of cultural, racial, and gender roles and stereotypes within the framework of a decorative object turned art object.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Ai Weiwei (China/Portugal); Nevin Aladağ (Turkey/Germany); 
Azra Aksamija (Bosnia/Austria); 
Ali Cha’aban (Lebanese/Kuwait); Sonya Clark (United States); Liselot Cobelens (Netherlands); 
Nicholas Galanin (United States); Johannah Herr (United States)
; Oksana Levchenya (Ukraine); 
Noelle Mason (United States); Wendy Plomp (Netherlands); 
Stéphanie Saadé (Lebanon/France/Netherlands); Slavs and Tatars (Germany)
; Andrea Zittel (United States)

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT
Ariel Zaccheo, curator
azaccheo@sfmcd.org 415.773.0303 ext 309
Nora Atkinson, executive director
natkinson@sfmcd.org 415.773.0303
Ginger Duggan, c2-curator
ginger@curatorsquared.com 407.227.2565
Judy Fox, c2-curator
judy@curatorsquared.com 617.640.4037

Prospectus.4.4