Art + AuctionsThis World-Renowned Artist Is Now Creating Limited-Edition Carpets—And They’re StunningJwan Yosef, husband of singer-songwriter Ricky Martin, is venturing in his first foray into home design with results that transform rooms

By Rima Suqi

November 30, 2021

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Artist Jwan Yosef in his Los Angeles studio.Photo: Courtesy of Jwan Yosef 

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Masking tape, duct tape, and blue painter’s tape might not seem inspirational in and of themselves, but in the hands of Jwan Yosef, these pedestrian materials have been transformed into paintings and sculptural installations that, he says, “conceptually hold a room together, in a very naïve and playful way.” The Syrian-born artist’s series of “masking” paintings debuted in 2014 at Stene Projects in Stockholm (his family immigrated to Sweden when he was just two years old), followed a few years later by installations at Guerrero Projects in Houston and the Bomb Factory Art Foundation, a nonprofit he cofounded while living in London, where he earned a Master’s in Fine Art at Central Saint Martins.

But it’s Yosef’s latest iteration of this concept that might actually hold rooms together—a collaboration with Henzel Studio on a collection of limited-edition carpets. It’s his first foray into the home design realm, and he’s in very good company. Henzel Studio was founded over two decades ago in Sweden and has become world-renowned for realizing the work of notable contemporary artists in luxury carpets. Their previous collaborations resulted in pieces with Marilyn Minter, Mickalene Thomas, Richard Prince, Nan Goldin, and Jack Pierson.

A portrait of the artist Jwan Yosef.

Photo: Courtesy of Jwan Yosef

Yosef’s Masking, Masking #1 and Masking #2 are free-form cream-colored pieces with variable pile heights that create the effect of layered masking tape; Duct, Duct #1 and Duct #2 are the same idea in shades of gray; Electrical, Electrical #1 and Electrical #2 in black. Each is a numbered edition of 20 with one artist’s proof. Painter’s Tape is a singular design, also in a numbered edition of 20, realized in shades of cobalt blue. Yosef, who now lives in Los Angeles with his husband, the singer-songwriter Ricky Martin, and their children, has said “I don’t really consider this carpet as two-dimensional. I worked with masking tape as a reference and the carpet became a pretty accurate three-dimensional imitation of that real object. The elevations of the crossing pieces of ‘tape’ are pretty real in proportions.”

Joakim Andreasson, Curator of Henzel Studio Collaborations, first reached out to Yosef three years ago. “With both of us being Swedish and living in L.A., there was instant common ground, and the creative process started right there and then,” he recalled of their initial meeting. “I was instantly drawn to Jwan’s ability to apply a different physical appropriation of his work with tape, and we both saw the potential for stunning rugs unlike anything out there. The concept also allowed us to create variations in terms of type of tape, which determines color, and shape, both of which we have explored.”

Jwan Yosef, Painters, 2021. Hand-knotted silk rug (edition of 20 + 1 AP), 170 x 300 cm (65 x 130 in).

Photo: Courtesy of the artist, Frozen Palms Gallery, and Henzel Studio

Yosef, whose first name means “beautiful” in Kurdish, began the process as many do, with a sketch. But he “sketched” by putting masking tape directly on pieces of paper, layering the strips to create dimensional designs that he then scanned and digitized before they were transformed into hand-woven silk carpets. Andreasson, by now a veteran of this very specific sector, was especially excited about the results. “I have worked with nearly 40 artists across medias, and each provides its set of circumstances to explore, but our work with Jwan is amongst the most unique and, in turn, challenges the media at hand.”

Detail image of: Jwan Yosef, Masking, 2018. Hand-knotted silk rug (edition of 20 + 1 AP), 165 x 300 cm (65 x 130 in).

Photo: Courtesy of the artist, Frozen Palms Gallery, and Henzel Studio

Coinciding with the debut of the carpets is a virtual exhibition of Yosef’s works at Frozen Palms Gallery, a contemporary art gallery also under the Henzel umbrella, with outposts in Los Angeles and Bastad, Sweden. “Object/Object,” is curated by Andreasson and Brianna Bakke, and will feature Yosef’s paintings and wall reliefs, as well as the hand-knotted rugs, that viewers can experience as though they were physically walking through a gallery, thanks to 3D technology powered by Artland. The rugs will also be on view at Twentieth in Los Angeles and Italo Design in Miami.

“Object/Object” runs through February 9, 2022.

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