Artist Farid Rasulov Carpet Rooms Art

Carpet Rooms Art by Artist Farid Rasulov: Capturing the Heart of the Azerbaijani People Through Carpets

Artist Farid Rasulov uses his art to pay homage to the traditions and history of his Azerbaijan home. His works use traditional elements in unusual ways to express his sense of connection to his homeland and its people. Carpets are a traditional art form in Azerbaijan, and Rasulov feels that they are a medium that expresses the heart and soul of his people.

Carpet Room by Artist Farid Rasulov

Biography and Artworks of Artist Farid Rasulov

Artist Farid Rasulov was born in 1986 in Shusha, Azerbaijan. Rasulov uses the symbols, patterns, and colors found in the carpets of Azerbaijan. Shusha is a town located in the picturesque Karabakh Mountains. It was once heavily fought over during the Safavid Dynasty and was ruled by the Turkish Qajars for several decades. It later became a part of the Soviet Union / Russian Empire. This sets the stage for the creation of some of the most beautiful carpets in the world.

Rasulov is the son of a chemistry teacher, and his mother is a musician. He graduated from Azerbaijan State Medical University in 2006 but was influenced by a group of artists that he knew. One of them is the influential artist Faig Ahmed, another artist who creates profound and meaningful textile art works. Rasulov was not formally trained as an artist but learned by watching and hanging out with other artists. Eventually he taught himself, and the art began to come more easily to him.

“Dogs in the Living Room” by Farid Rasulov

When Rasulov decided to pursue art instead of medicine, his family was shocked and unsupportive. Their Soviet mentality dictated that giving up a well paying and steady career to pursue art was against common sense and convention. But Farid decided to do it anyway, even without their support. In the beginning it was a struggle. He appeared at the international stage at the 53rd International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale but was not earning money from his art at the time. He eventually found work as an interior designer.

One of the aspects that attracted Rasulov to art is that it is something different every day. As a physician, Farid felt that he would have quickly become disenchanted with the monotony of the routine. Rasulov enjoys the ability to experiment and try new things every day.

A carpet room print by Farid Rasulov

Rasulov’s first memories of carpets were during his childhood. He remembers walking on the soft Oriental and Persian carpets and eventually began to understand the symbolism and meaning behind them. Farid points out that many children in Azerbaijan grow up without a television. They think that the animals look exactly like the symbols on the carpets. They have no idea what the real animal looks like in life. The pixelated forms of the animals represent this abstraction and the differences between the two worlds.

By using the symbols in the carpets, Rasulov honors the struggles, conflict, hardships, and strength of his people to overcome and endure. In one of his most public works, he uses an abstraction of bird symbols often seen in Azerbaijan rugs. Birds symbolize the miracle of flight and the ability to see things from a higher perspective. In this piece, Rasulov created a giant statue that transformed the dove symbol into a three-dimensional form that is 12-feet tall. Like many of his art works, this sculpture has meanings on multiple levels.

“Bird” Sculpture by Farid Rasulov, from his Creating Color series.

The Fascinating Carpet Rooms Art Prints by Artist Farid Rasulov

Perhaps some of the most spectacular works by Rasulov are his carpet room prints. This series of computer generated image prints is done on aluminum and features rooms covered in the antique carpets of his people. Rasulov covered the walls, ceiling, and floor with tiled carpets. Each room features a single carpet design that is repeated throughout the space. Within the rooms, the artist placed symbolic animals and objects.

Each carpet room art print features an open window and or has a definitive light source that plays with the objects in the room. All of the animals face towards the light in the way that all beings and plants on earth seek the light and turn from the darkness. In this way, the artist captures how the Azerbaijani people have come to find peace and turn from the struggle. It also symbolizes this same struggle within each of us.

“Iguanas in the Kitchen” by Farid Rasulov

Sometimes, artist Farid Rasulov uses his works to show the contrast between two cultures. For instance, at the 2014 Paris exhibition, he presented a Western-style room covered with Oriental carpets. He knew that some people would see it as too much, but he wanted to show the contrast between the two cultures. In the painting, he added a white dog. White animals in his paintings are symbolic of the purity of nature. Every object within Rasulov’s paintings has a special meaning and significance. Sometimes his meaning is obvious, and sometimes it is subtle.

The art works and carpet rooms of artist Farid Rasulov continue to be displayed throughout the Islamic World and Russia. His works touch something inside that everyone can feel. His work captures his connection to his roots and the roots of the Azerbaijani people in a way that is as fascinating that honors them in a way that no other art form could do. Rasulov also displays a number of contemporary art pieces in different mediums, but his carpet room prints connect the past to the present and emphasize the symbolism and significance to the Azerbaijani people.