I am delighted to share a very special collaboration with the Royal Tapestry Factory, an institution founded in 1721 and closely connected to the history of Spanish art and textile craftsmanship for more than three centuries.
Working with an institution with such an extraordinary heritage is a true privilege for me. Throughout its history, the Royal Tapestry Factory has collaborated with major artists, preserving centuries-old craftsmanship while continuing to embrace contemporary ideas and artistic languages.
From this encounter comes Amberes, a collection centred around a rug inspired by my polyhedral Meninas and the colourful universe that characterises my work. Each rug is made to order and can be customised in terms of size, colours and number of Meninas, making every piece unique.
The rug is created using the Royal Tapestry Factory’s traditional Turkish-knot technique. Each square metre consists of 18,460 hand-tied knots and takes approximately one week to produce, a meticulous process that creates a fascinating dialogue between a historic craft and contemporary design.
The collaboration also extends beyond the rug. I have designed a collection of objects inspired by the silhouette of the polyhedral Menina, including silk scarves, ceramic pieces, fans and umbrellas, taking the same graphic and colourful language into a variety of different formats.
For me, Amberes represents precisely this meeting of tradition and modernity: the opportunity to bring my artistic universe into a discipline with centuries of history and to see how two seemingly different languages can coexist and enrich one another.
