The Rug Company

In a world where we are inundated by images and colour from our waking moments, artist Fiona Curran explores through abstract collages how colour, composition and space affect us. Accustomed to working with paint and cut paper, Curran for the first time makes use of the exceptional quality of handmade rugs and tapestry with her collection for The Rug Company.

Inspired by the scenic wallpapers of nineteenth century France, Curran interprets the decorative landscapes in a modern context, creating collages that explore how interior decoration can be a source of escapism and discovery. The “Fantastic Journey” wallhanging depicts the alluring beauty of an exotic, far-flung world with bright colours and silhouettes; it also seeks to unnerve, with the use of fluorescent and clashing colours in an unusual context.

Curran’s two rug designs “Palette” and “Zap” are an extension of her collage work, with the abstract and irregular shapes of the collages portrayed in an array of bright colours. The handmade quality of each piece compliments her goal to create functional design pieces, destined to encourage physical interaction with her artwork. The rugs go beyond the decorative, as Curran strives to change our experience of colour from the visual to the tactile.

Curran says of the designs “So much of our experience now is rooted in the visual realm via screen imagery and is therefore about distance and detachment; the rugs appeal to our sense of touch and engagement with one another. The exceptional quality of these pieces is such an important element for me, not only in terms of the natural materials involved but also in terms of the handmade and the slow, meticulous process of production”.