Milan-based ALTAI Gallery, renowned for their collections of antique primitive nomadic textile art and contemporary wild silk rugs, has debuted in London with an exhibition at the Paul Smith flagship store in Mayfair, No. 9 Albemarle Street.
Running until the 27th of March, the exhibition comprises 11 masterpieces that feature throughout the ground floor of the shop. Celebrating the value of craftmanship and techniques handed down for millennia, ALTAI presents a collection of rare early 20th Century pieces that tell a story of customs, culture and migration as well as help understand the everyday traditions of people who lived a way of life long forgotten and today disappeared.
The exhibition marks the gallery’s first collaboration with a British brand, and fully reflects the similarities between ALTAI and the fashion designer’s creative approaches, where colour plays a crucial role, and unusual combinations always create unexpected experiences.
Raffaele Carrieri, co-founder of ALTAI Gallery, comments: “The idea of showing a special selection of ALTAI pieces at his London store in Mayfair came to Paul during a visit to our gallery. We welcomed his proposition with great enthusiasm, knowing that the uniqueness of our rugs and tapestries would happily marry with he unconventional spaces of one of the greatest fashion designers of our time.”
The pieces on display include Filikli rugs, featuring knotted angora wool on the weft and balanced flat weave on the warp, true examples of primitive textile art; Cirpi rugs, Anatolian flat fabrics included in the broad category of Kilims (woven rugs that are not knoPed), that are made up of at least three narrow juxtaposed monochrome strips of fabric, joined together with evident seams and often featuring small embroidery details or totemic inserts, testimony to the ancient origins of these cultures; Kircil Kilims, rugs that come from a micro-region of Southeast Anatolia, near the border with Syria, and were used for the desiccation of fruits and cereals; Zakatala, long-haired rugs woven predominantly in Eastern Anatolia and Caucasus, that were used as sleeping mats, both during the colder months, when the hairy side was preferred, and during the hotter months, when the rugs were turned over.
ALTAI’s founders are passionate about preserving nomadic textiles, rugs, and wall hangings, and focus their attention on the connection between these ancient pieces and the beginning of the avant-garde movement in the 20th Century.
The exhibition runs until 27 March 2023
Paul Smith, 9 Albemarle St, London W1S 4BL
Opening Times: Mon-Sat 11am – 6,30pm / Sun 12-6pm