This mus T be how sarah burTon felT, inheriTing
the house of mcQueen, soaked in a tempest of questions: how to
honor an icon, where to experiment, how not to unravel? and yet,
without risk, the fortune cookie predicts a lackluster future. for andrew
neave, artistic director of lapchi handwoven Carpets, the midnight oil
was ablaze in the magnificent, immortal details of 20th century french
master andré arbus.
Considering the vastness of his oeuvre, distilling the elegant arbus
canon into 12 carpet designs was an endeavor best left to a soulful
creative. "arbus was very interested in elevating the quality of living,"
said neave. "he meant to enhance, ennoble and uplift—i was trying
to project into that."
emotional resonance guided neave as he spent time with nathalie
and Patrick aubriot, the devoted stewards of the arbus archive. a
past language shaped by rhythmic suggestions of the present day,
neave gorgeously pieced together the elements, conversing with the
visionary's unspoken fancies in shape, mood and texture, into a lush
visual improvisation.
"i also looked through work not completed; i began to find small
doodles and sketches, and incomplete things. on one torn fragment,
he articulated a curl in a corner … so my issue was to always try to use
his hand—if i used mine, it would start looking very different."
within this collection, the purist is lavished. There are two of the
artist's iconic designs, neoclassique, celebrating the marquetry and
border patterns for which arbus was known, and Palladian, a sensual
folly between curve and line.
from inspired transference to tactile vitality, the signature, hand-crafted nature of lapchi's carpets lends a luxurious authenticity to
the collection. The company's superlative materials and artisan construction grant spectacular depth to the patterns; translating arbus
into Tibetan wool and silk handweaving imparts a dimensionality and
reflective quality to each creation. That thoughtfulness with sheen and
light was present in neave's mind. in this soft synthesis of homage and
innovation, he draws parallels to the gloss of arbus' furniture n Arianne
Nardo, Lapchi Handwoven Carpets, 866 619 9779 lapchi.com
Clockwise fom left, Tortoise/brunette;
