Curated by Ginger Gregg Duggan and Judith Hoos Fox of c2-curatorsquared, the RugLife exhibition completes its national tour at Pratt Manhattan Gallery on 14th Street this winter. Showcasing 14 contemporary artists, the exhibition explores the rug as a medium to engage with issues of religion, technology, social justice, housing, and environmental concerns. Artists from the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia utilize diverse materials such as yarn, cardboard, repurposed carpets, and hair combs to transform rugs into experimental and innovative artworks.
Among the artists, Ukrainian Oksana Levchenya uses traditional kylym rug-making techniques from the 16th century to create modern pieces that merge folk motifs with pop culture. Her work “Pac-Man and Cossacks” (2022) humorously juxtaposes historic Cossacks with the iconic video game character to comment on cultural symbols. Sonya Clark reinterprets the rug through the lens of Black vernacular hair design, creating the “Comb Carpet” (2008) from hundreds of black plastic combs, addressing themes of cultural identity and racial stereotypes.
Rugs also influence our spatial understanding, from personal to global contexts. Ali Cha’aban’s “Grandpa’s Monobloc” (2023) covers a basic white plastic chair with carpet, reflecting on Arab identity and displacement. This piece uses the common Monobloc chair to discuss cultural reintegration and the dignity of displaced design. Political and environmental themes are evident throughout the exhibition, with Ai Weiwei’s “Tyger” (2022) commissioned for the Tomorrow’s Tigers project, supporting the World Wildlife Fund. Weiwei adapts Tibetan tiger rug traditions to emphasize the concerning decline of wild tigers.
The exhibition features artists Ai Weiwei, Azra Akšamija, Nevin Aladağ, Ali Cha’aban, Sonya Clark, Liselot Cobelens, Nicholas Galanin, Johannah Herr, Oksana Levchenya, Noelle Mason, Wendy Plomp, Stéphanie Saadé, Slavs & Tatars, and Andrea Zittel. RugLife will be on display at Pratt Manhattan Gallery from February 6 to May 23, 2026, with a public opening reception scheduled for Thursday, February 5, from 6 to 8pm. The exhibition began at the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco and has traveled to the Weatherspoon Museum of Art in Greensboro, North Carolina, and the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis, Minnesota, before reaching New York City.
For more information, visit pratt.edu.
