Wassily Rug

Design 
Medium
Dimension
Date
Collaborator    
Floor Textile
Yarn
L6’ x W7’
Spring 2025 
Yvonne Yang (Textile Craftsmen)
Category
Code
Object Design
NE04


Wassily Rug is part of the design set A Way of Living, alongside Thinking Chair and Casual Chair.

Designed as a platform that both connects and contrasts these two distinctive chairs, the rug serves as a spatial and conceptual foundation within the set. It explores a textile interpretation of Wassily Kandinsky’s Point and Line to Plane (1926), a theory that examines the visual and spatial impact of points, lines, and planes on the viewer.

Point and Line to Plane establishes the point as the fundamental element of painting, serving as the origin for all other visual forms. The line serves as a force, with its varying forms—straight, angular, or curved—expressing distinct emotional and dynamic qualities shaped by their creation. The surface, or plane, acts as the essential foundation where these elements interact. Kandinsky further explores how the interplay of points, lines, and surfaces generates emotional responses in the viewer, reinforcing his theory of painting as a structured yet expressive language. Central to his ideas are forces and counterforces, which introduce dynamism and tension in compositions. He also emphasizes “inner necessity,” the artist’s intrinsic drive to create, and highlights color as a potent emotional force that directly impacts the psyche.

 
The rug is composed of three distinct elements—point, line, and plane—each expressed through its design. The circular pattern represents the point, while the rectangular form extending from it signifies the line. The surrounding negative space constitutes the plane. These elements shift in perception depending on the viewer’s distance: from afar, the circle and rectangle reduce to a point and a line in relation to the larger plane, yet they also exist as tangible forms within the composition. The white plane remains constant, framing the interplay of point and line while also accommodating any objects placed upon it, reinforcing its role as both a background and an active part of the composition.