Studiopepe rugs Muuto

Studiopepe’s New Rugs for Muuto Were Inspired by 1960s-Style Land Art

Muuto is such a staple of the Scandinavian design set that it’s hard to believe the Danish company is only now releasing its first tufted rug collection. A new collaboration with Milan-based duo Studiopepe is exactly what we’d hoped for from both. Using the “tension” between Scandinavian and Italian design as a starting point, studio founders Arianna Lelli Mami and Chiara Di Pinto combined common features of both: high-quality materials, graphic shapes, and simple yet impactful gestures, which in this instance meant filleting one of the rug’s four corners.

The collection is named Relevo, which means “relief” in Latin, and refers to the subtly embossed patterns on the rugs’ surfaces that follow their unusual outlines. These sweeping geometric ridges were influenced by the land art movement, which saw giant earthworks created by the likes of Robert Smithson, Michael Heizer and Andy Goldsworthy emerge in the 1960s and 70s. “Relevo’s swooping lines were inspired by land art and its sometimes furrowed, hypnotic paths in the soil,” says Studiopepe.

To create these “furrows” across the carpets, the hand-tufted New Zealand wool is trimmed to the desired length, achieving the sense of visual depth and adding tonal variation to the monochrome rugs, which come in a choice of Off-White, Burnt Orange, Sage Green, and Dark Green. Each hue has enough punch to become the focal point of a room, yet is muted enough to blend in with a variety of decor styles. The rugs come in two sizes, and are available now in the US and beyond.