Authentic rugs woven in Turkey displayed in New York museum

Istanbul-born artist Peter Hristoff, who collaborates with the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) as part of the museum's guest artist program, has opened an exhibition featuring carpets woven in Turkey.

Academic Hristoff, of the School of Visual Art (SVA) in New York, initiated a project with high school students who are working as interns at the Met and had the Turkish motifs weaved on carpets at the workshop in the western province of İzmir's Selçuk district. The carpets have been brought to New York by Hristoff and are currently being exhibited at the museum's education hall.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) about the exhibition, Hristoff said that he has been dreaming to realize the carpet project for years. He said that he has been drawing carpet motifs since the 1990s and continued: "I always intended to go back to Turkey and have some of my designs weaved. I received an invitation from Hagia Sophia Museum to hold an exhibition in 2005, but I realized that my paintings are not in coherence with the spirit, nor Hagia Sophia in terms of color and theme. Then I decided to weave carpets in Turkey with my motifs and exhibited 10 carpets at the museum."

The following year, Hristoff was invited to Aydın's Güllübahçe village to design carpets for an annual festival. After having his motifs weaved on carpets, Hristoff exhibited his artistic designs and compositions at the festival in Turkey.

Hristoff said that the exhibition at the Met is slightly different from his previous project and he worked with Can Carpet Workshop in Çamlık village instead of the workshop that he has been working with for years.