A seemingly monochrome red carpet is rolled out on the floor. It is a collage made from different remnants of various carpets, some of which are worn out. The search for familiar patterns and shapes is fruitless. What remains is the symbolic power of the red carpet itself, which is always important in history and throughout the world – a rolled-out red carpet indicates the importance of a guest for example. Reto Leibundgut is fascinated by the dual nature of the material: on the one hand, it is a noble, valuable product which decorates living spaces, and on the other, the carpet itself also represents honesty. In this work, Leibundgut consciously leaves out all narratives and tries to eliminate the original ornaments in the individual pieces. “Tapis rouge” is one of the artist’s first collage works involving textiles. It was purchased for the Kunstmuseum Thun collection after the artist’s solo exhibition in 2002.

Katrin Sperry