An art rug made possible by the woodcut artist Katsutoshi Yuasa's woodblock print and the carpet-making skills of Yamagata Dantsu.
SMP's first collection of art area rugs, "CENTRAL PARK," was inspired by Central Park in New York City, which is rich with nature. The atmosphere of Central Park's sunlight filtering through the trees is expressed with the hand-tufted construction method (manually inserted rug) that represents the texture, color tone, and shadows that can only be achieved with a rug.
The origin/root of the brand STYLE MEETS PEOPLE / SMP was in Manhattan, NYC, USA, in 1986. Surrounded by skyscrapers, the city park, Central Park, located in the center of the island, is an urban oasis for New Yorkers where you can come into contact with nature every season. The park of this cosmopolitan city is the symbol of relaxation for visitors from all over the world.
In STYLE MEETS PEOPLE in Tokyo Midtown (Roppongi), landscape photographs of CENTRAL PARK have been displayed on glass panels since its opening in 2007. The landscape photos that capture the moment of fluctuation in the trees, deep greenery, and sunlight filtering through the trees of Central Park, which let us forget the hustle and bustle of the city, are iconic spaces.
Based on this black-and-white photograph, Katsutoshi Yuasa made a woodcut print. Then, an art rug was created using the handiwork of YAMAGATA DANTSU.
How can digitally captured black-and-white landscape photographs be expressed with rugs made of different materials?
How about carving the image with a woodblock and creating an area rug with the texture of the thread from the woodblock print in black gradation rubbed with light and shade?
"Yamagata Dantsu (Oriental Carpet)" is a long-established carpet workshop that handles hand-woven carpets for the hotel with a history from the imperial family and art rugs for internationally active architects and Japanese painters. We visited them with Katsutoshi Yuasa's woodblock print in the spring of 2022.
Developing ideas took nearly 10 years, from conception to planning, design, and production.
Central Park spreads like a rectangular rug on the elongated island of Manhattan.
An attempt to make a rug by printing a photograph using woodcut printing. The original rug, which took many years to conceive, has the charm and pleasure we get from black-and-white photographs and woodblock prints.
"ART RUG - CENTRAL PARK" is a floor art that makes the most of the material's texture, can be enjoyed as an interior piece, and can be felt with bare feet.
Material: 100% Wool
SIZE: 140 x 200cm
Made in Yamagata, Japan
■Woodblock print production: Katsutoshi Yuasa
■Photography: Taka Matsuura
■ Carpet production: Yamagata Dantsu (Oriental Carpet Co., Ltd.)
