Rosemarie Trockel
rugs and related work

November - December 2001

A/D is pleased to present an exhibition of Rosemarie Trockel's hand-knotted rugs, commissioned by Equator Productions between 1987 and 1991, and produced in India.

Shown here for the first time together in New York, the carpets have previously been exhibited in museum shows in France, Germany, Holland, Scotland and Denmark, and at important contemporary art galleries in Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Benelux.

Exploring the engagement of the traditional process of Eastern carpet making with a distinctly Western image making, the rugs demonstrate a remarkable fusion of artistic intent and craftsmanship.  Trockel effectively uses the materials, colors and techniques of oriental weaving traditions to present her trademark sharp analysis, irony and humor. Related in many ways to her famous series of knitted works, familiar symbols, often chosen from icons of male spheres of power, are used as provocative motifs.  From the all-over repetition of the Woolmark design, to the endless duplication of text, "made in Western Germany," Trockel uses the seriality of the design process to challenge our interpretation of symbol and language.

However, while the knitted works resolutely negate the hand of the artist through computer design and machine production, these rugs are as much about the connection of hand and eye as they are about concept.  Working with local assistants to execute the extremely complex and demanding craft of translating the preparatory drawing into an effective pattern, the carpets are then meticulously hand-knotted to a minimum of 50,000 knots per square foot in pure wool.  The finished product has a dense, rich quality and is still very much considered as a traditional art form.

Rosemarie Trockel is one of the most important figures in the German and international contemporary art scene. She has gained worldwide renown through her often complex and controversial reflections on established theories about sexuality, social structures, contemporary culture and artistic production.  Known for her experimentation with a wide range of visual media–from drawing to sculpture to video installation–this series of rugs is considered by the artist as an integral and important part of her oeuvre.