Tariq Dixon always envisioned TRNK, his New York furniture studio and showroom, as a curatorial platform for emerging designers with diverse perspectives. (See “Provenanced,” which celebrates African and Indigenous contributions to Western design culture, and a Dolmen-inspired furniture collection with Farrah Sit.) The brand’s latest outing, the Artist Rug Series, doubles down on Dixon’s collaborative spirit by translating the works of emerging artists into heirloom-quality rugs. “I was intrigued by the idea of using rugs as an art medium,” he says, “so I thought it would be interesting to combine the role and language of wall art with the textural and tactile qualities of rugs.”
The inaugural collection brings three up-and-coming talents into the fore, weaving their distinct visual languages with time-honored craft. Jesus Perea’s bold geometric patterns translate seamlessly from wood and cardboard to New Zealand wool, as do the meticulous ink drawings of Louis Reith and Zackery Abernathy’s abstract paintings. “Rugs have an amazing history as both functional and decorative objects,” Dixon says. “Much like wall art, they get passed down through generations and maintain a similar permanence, but we interact with them very differently.” Thanks to the Artist Rug Series, the gap is closing.
