American textile house Maharam has released its second round of artist-designed wallpapers in collaboration with Serpentine Galleries during Frieze New York. This year, the collaboration gathered the multifaceted international talents of Beatriz González, Alex Katz, Jean Nouvel and Raqs Media Collective.
The four new designs join last year’s inaugural release of prints by Ai Weiwei, John Baldessari, Marc Camille Chaimowicz, Toyo Ito, SANAA, Rosemarie Trockel and Lawrence Weiner. Still under the curation of Julia Peyton-Jones and Hans-Ulrich Obrist, the new works follow the same vibrant repetitive patterned theme, all imbued with their own subject matter and mastered using hi-tech digital printing, and high-resolution imagery on the paper.
Each of the wallpapers tells its own artistic story, with a little humour arriving in American artist Alex Katz’s animated dog, Sunny. Realised here in a monochrome palette, he leaves just the blood red tongue of his family dog peeking out as the abstract focal point.
Alternatively, French architect Jean Nouvel paid tribute to the beauty of the English summer landscape with his scorching red and green print. Titled Summer Hours in Kensington, it includes photographs of idyllic English paraphernalia in two opposite hues. When discussing the colour choice, he poetically muses: ‘Red is summer heat. Red complements green. Red is bright, alive, piercing. Red is provocative, forbidden, loud. Red is as English as a red rose, as red as London's iconic objects, a double-decker bus or a telephone box, the transitory places we gravitate towards.’
More solemn works were offered up by Indian artists Raqs Media Collective and Colombian pop artist Beatriz González, who draws on cultural references with her print Wiwa Stories. The pale blue painting captures the plight of 11 people killed by lightning during a Colombian tribal ceremony. Meanwhile, Raqs Media Collective adopt a similar gloomy palette with a line-up of ominously painted bottles called Antidote.
Proudly printed with UV-resistant inks on a washable, latex-reinforced substrate, the wallpapers will be available by the roll at the Serpentine Galleries shop in London or by the linear yard through Maharam.
Following the first round of designs, the new works adopt the same vibrant repetitive patterned themes, all imbued with their own subject matter and mastered using hi-tech digital printing, and high-resolution imagery on the paper. Pictured: Sunny, by Alex Katz
Colombian pop artist Beatriz González drew on cultural references with her print Wiwa Stories. The pale blue painting captures the plight of 11 people who were killed by lightning during a Colombian tribal ceremony
Antidote, by Raqs Media Collective, embraces a gloomy palette with a line-up of ominously painted bottles
INFORMATION
Wallpapers are available by the roll at the Serpentine Galleries shop in London, or by the linear yard through Maharam. For more information, visit the Maharam website
-
Here’s how Heathrow is reimagining airport chaos as ambient musicGrammy-nominated Jordan Rakei turns travel noise into a meditative soundtrack by sampling everything from baggage belts to jet engines
-
Wallpaper* checks into Gansevoort Meatpacking, an art-filled hotel that mirrors the district’s glow-upThis sharp, stylish New York hotel is a fixture in its neighbourhood, where boutiques, restaurants and clubs have long since taken over spaces once occupied by slaughterhouses
-
Glenn Martens’ thrilling Maison Margiela debut was a balancing act between past, present and futureThe Belgian designer made his debut for the house last night with a collection that looked towards medieval decoration for a new expression of opulence
-
‘Her pictures looked like pictures everybody knew were the truth’: Diane Arbus at the ArmoryMatthieu Humery curates more than 400 of Arbus’ photographs at New York’s Park Avenue Armory – every picture she was known to have printed
-
Mystic, feminine and erotic: the power of Penny Slinger’s bodies as landscapeArtist Penny Slinger continues her exploration of the sacred, surreal feminine in a Santa Monica exhibition, ‘Meeting at the Horizon’
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt was a jam-packed week for the Wallpaper* staff, entailing furniture, tech and music launches and lots of good food – from afternoon tea to omakase
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper* editors have been up to this weekThis week saw the Wallpaper* team jet-setting to Jordan and New York; those of us left in London had to make do with being transported via the power of music at rooftop bars, live sets and hologram performances
-
Photographer Geordie Wood takes a leap of faith with first film, DiversGeordie Wood delved into the world of professional diving in Fort Lauderdale for his first film
-
New book celebrates 100 years of New York City landmarks where LGBTQ+ history took placeMarc Zinaman’s ‘Queer Happened Here: 100 Years of NYC’s Landmark LGBTQ+ Places’ is a vital tribute to queer culture
-
A major Takashi Murakami exhibition sees the world in kaleidoscopic colourThe Cleveland Art Museum presents 'Takashi Murakami 'Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow', exploring outrage and escapist fantasy
-
The alternative art fairs championing emerging artistsThe lower barrier to entry to these smaller and specialist art fairs make them hubs of grassroots creativity, allowing emerging names to establish a foothold in the industry
