The London-based contemporary rug designer Christopher Farr has opened a picturesque courtyard gallery in a mid-century building on Los Angeles's design row, La Cienega Boulevard. Farr has staged regular exhibitions in the United States since 1993, showing collections in Los Angeles, San Francisco and in New York, where his company is represented by Ralph Pucci.
"Los Angeles was selected as the location for the first Christopher Farr gallery as we perceive the city to be an ideal and receptive audience for our mix of collections, which include designs by cutting-edge artists such as Gary Hume and great textile artists such as Marian Pepler (below left) and Gunta Stolzl, head of the weaving workshop at the Bauhaus," notes Matthew Bourne, Farr's business partner. "Chris as the artist/designer of the Christopher Farr line will continue concentrating on creating collections of large area rugs specifically for the discerning, design-aware clients in the L.A. area."
Farr, in fact designed a series of rugs specifically for the L.A. market called Code/Close. The first theme is geometric, a Farr specialty, and is concerned with the juxtaposition of stripes and the field of the carpet (see table of contents image). "The placement of the band of stripes allows the interior designer to position furniture on or off the carpet, bringing a warm band of stripes behind a sofa or inbetween two sofas," says Farr. "The second theme, Close (below, second from right), is a free-flowing tonal design with a choice of three different accent colors. This design allows the eye to wander freely and enjoy the rhythm of the curves."
Marian Pepler Allegra HicksChristopher FarrBrad Davis/Janis Provisor
Farr and Bourne have co-authored a book with Fiona Leslie of the Victoria and Albert Museum called Contemporary Rugs: Art and Design (Merrell Publishers, $50). With a foreword by Andree Putman, a fan of Christopher Farr, the copiously illustrated book covers the evolution of rug design over the last century and shows the work of 50 of the world's leading designers and producers of carpets, including Allegra Hicks and the team of Brad Davis and Janis Provisor.
Farr, who is back and forth to the United States, will launch the book at the Los Angeles gallery on July 17 and in New York at Pucci International on July 23.
Gun-tufted rug by Angela Adams, as shown in the book Contemporary Rugs
June 2002
