Henzel Studio Collaborations

Celebrated as a game-changer in art and design, this landmark collection earned lasting critical acclaim and continues to redefine their intersection.

Initiated in 2013 by Joakim Andreasson alongside Calle and Asa Henzel, Henzel Studio Collaborations emerged as an unprecedented platform at the intersection of contemporary art and handcrafted design. Conceived as a long-term dialogue between artists and textile craftsmanship, the program has brought together more than thirty of the most influential voices in contemporary art, translating distinct artistic practices into museum-quality hand-knotted works.

The initiative made its debut in 2014 with twelve limited-edition rugs, unveiled at Barneys New York Madison Avenue in a site-specific installation designed by Dennis Freedman in conjunction with Frieze Art Fair New York. Hailed as a game-changing moment in the relationship between art and design, the presentation received exceptional critical acclaim and established a new framework for understanding the rug as a medium for contemporary artistic expression rather than solely a functional object.

Through Henzel Studio Heritage, the program has further expanded its scope by collaborating with artists' estates and foundations, resulting in extensive collections developed in partnership with the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Tom of Finland Foundation, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. These collaborations extend the initiative beyond living artistic practices, preserving and reinterpreting the visual languages of groundbreaking cultural figures through the lens of textile artistry and traditional craftsmanship.

By continuously challenging conventional boundaries between fine art, design, and material culture, Henzel Studio Collaborations has helped redefine the role of the contemporary rug within both private collections and institutional contexts. Each work stands as a synthesis of artistic vision and centuries-old hand-knotting techniques, affirming the rug as a collectible artistic medium where innovation, authorship, and craftsmanship converge.

Image: Anselm Reyle, portrait by Hedi Slimane. Courtesy of the artist.

An unprecedented program

Art rugs have been around for quite some time in various forms, and some of the most prominent artists including Francis Bacon, Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Robert Indiana, Mike Kelley, Ellsworth Kelly, Fernand Leger, Roy Lichtenstein, Henri Matisse, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol have all turned to the media at some point in their oeuvre.

However, rather than look back, we’re looking to encapsulate facets of contemporary art and work with a curated group of artists that simultaneously express their ethos within a broad yet defined scope. Having forty leading contemporary artists collaborate in this capacity makes Henzel Studio Collaborations an unprecedented program, although artisan practices remind us that the possibility has always existed. The artists are all groundbreaking and leading forces within their respectivefields and media, ranging from sculpture, drawing, collage, photography, installations, reliefs and video art. Their mark has not only been honored and highlighted at leading galleries and institutions worldwide, but also widely documented and manifested as a mirror of cultural movements.

For example, there’s Scott Campbell’s autonomous voice as both a tattoo and fine artist; Linder’s uncompromising work that helped shape the aesthetic of punk; Robert Knoke’s redefining of portraiture for the 21st century; Richard Prince’s enthralling methods of re-appropriation; Helmut Lang’s sculptural exploration beyond the human form and Leo Gabin spearheading the immersion of online user-generated content into art. Free to disregard design movements and related principles and rules, the featured artists were invited to freely and seamlessly translate their work and artistic ethos into the media at hand, exploring shape, volume and finishings, where practicality was secondary to concept. The creative brief invited the artists to embrace the resulting works as part of their own artistic practice. Whether displayed on the wall or placed on the floor, the chosen context remains as subjective as the distinction between applied and fine art—a distinction we encourage and hope will continue to exist as an open question.

— Joakim Andreasson, Curator, Henzel Studio Collaborations

Image: Katerina Jebb and Joakim Andreasson

Calle Henzel

The central force behind Henzel Studio Collaborations is the singular artistic practice of Calle Henzel, founder and creative director of Henzel Studio. Conceived through his vision of the hand-knotted rug as a legitimate medium for contemporary artistic expression, the program reflects more than two decades of research into the intersection of art, materiality, and traditional craftsmanship.

Since founding Henzel Studio in 1999, Henzel has pursued an autodidactic path, developing an independent practice outside conventional institutional frameworks. From the outset, he approached the rug not as a decorative object but as a site for artistic inquiry, exploring its sculptural, conceptual, and architectural potential through continual experimentation with material, surface, and form. This commitment has remained the defining characteristic of his work and established a distinct position within contemporary art and collectible design.

Working closely with artisan workshops in Nepal and India, Henzel draws upon centuries-old weaving traditions while continuously expanding their expressive possibilities. Acting as both artist and producer, he has developed a practice in which authorship and craftsmanship exist in direct dialogue, transforming the hand-knotted rug into a medium capable of carrying the complexity and ambition of contemporary art.

The curatorial vision of Henzel Studio Collaborations emerged directly from this independent artistic philosophy. Participating artists were selected not through stylistic affinity but through a shared commitment to creative autonomy and an ability to redefine the boundaries of their respective disciplines. The resulting collaborations bring together highly individual practices that remain conceptually distinct while united by an openness to experimentation, material innovation, and cross-disciplinary exchange.

By establishing a platform where contemporary artists engage with one of the world's oldest textile traditions, Henzel Studio Collaborations continues to challenge conventional distinctions between fine art, craft, and design. At its foundation lies Calle Henzel’s enduring conviction that the rug can function not only as an object within space, but as a fully realized work of contemporary art.

Image: Portrait of Calle Henzel. Courtesy the artist.

Andy Warhol

In partnership with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Henzel Studio has developed an extensive body of limited-edition art rugs that reinterpret both the iconic and experimental dimensions of Andy Warhol’s practice. Spanning more than a decade of collaboration, the collection reflects a shared commitment to translating one of the twentieth century’s most influential artistic legacies into the language of handcrafted textiles, where materiality, scale, and craftsmanship offer new ways of engaging with familiar works.

Among the most recent additions, Calle Henzel reimagines Warhol’s Oxidation Paintings (1978) through a series of hand-knotted rugs that capture the radical materiality of the original works. Created through the chemical reaction between metallic copper paint and oxidation, Warhol’s shimmering abstract surfaces represented a decisive departure within his oeuvre. Through years of research and technical development, Henzel Studio has translated these complex visual effects into textile form, preserving the subtle interplay between chance, process, and artistic intention that defines the series.

The collection also revisits Warhol’s enduring fascination with Marilyn Monroe, drawing from both his celebrated 1967 silkscreen portraits and a lesser-known maquette for an unrealized artist’s book discovered in Time Capsule 55. Building upon Warhol’s own fragmented reinterpretation of the image, Calle Henzel introduces his distinctive artistic vocabulary through organic forms, sculptural cut-outs, asymmetric fringes, and layered surface treatments. The resulting works create a dynamic dialogue between one of the twentieth century’s most recognizable cultural icons and the expressive possibilities of hand-knotted textile.

Executed in wool and silk using sophisticated high- and low-pile techniques, each rug possesses a unique tactile presence shaped by the nuances of hand production. Issued in limited editions and accompanied by certificates of authenticity, the works occupy the intersection of contemporary art and collectible design, extending Warhol’s legacy through a medium that is both materially rich and deeply rooted in craftsmanship.

Tom of Finland

Developed in collaboration with the Tom of Finland Foundation, Henzel Studio Heritage presents a collection of limited-edition art rugs celebrating the enduring legacy of Tom of Finland, one of the most influential artists in the history of queer visual culture. Through his uncompromising depictions of hyper-masculinity, eroticism, and desire, Tom of Finland transformed conventional representations of the male body, creating a visual language that became both a symbol of liberation and a landmark within twentieth-century art.

His meticulously rendered figures challenged prevailing cultural norms while constructing an alternative vision of identity, confidence, and sexuality that resonated far beyond the LGBTQ+ community. Today, his work forms part of major institutional collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and Tate, affirming its lasting significance within the broader history of contemporary art.

The collaboration translates this iconic body of work into the medium of hand-knotted textiles, preserving the strength, precision, and graphic clarity of the original drawings while introducing new dimensions of materiality, scale, and tactile presence. Rather than reproductions, the rugs function as carefully considered interpretations that extend Tom of Finland’s artistic vocabulary into the realm of collectible design.

As part of the Henzel Studio Heritage initiative, the collection reflects a shared commitment to preserving and recontextualizing important artistic legacies through exceptional craftsmanship. By bringing Tom of Finland’s groundbreaking imagery into architectural and domestic environments, the collaboration offers a new way of engaging with his work while reaffirming the hand-knotted rug as a medium for contemporary artistic expression.

Image: TOM OF FINLAND, Untitled, Mixed media on paper, part of Tom of Finland Foundation permanent collection. Courtesy of Tom of Finland Foundation.

View catalog (18+)

Exhibitions

2022 - 2026

KALKERIET CONTEMPORARY
Andy Warhol
Malmo, 2026

IMPERFETTOLAB GALLERY
Richard Prince, Calle Henzel, Jwan Yosef
Milan, 2026

KALKERIET CONTEMPORARY
Jwan Yosef, Calle Henzel
Malmo, 2026

MILAN DESIGN WEEK / GALLERIA ROSSANA ORLANDI
Calle Henzel, Mickalene Thomas
Milan, 2025

MILAN DESIGN WEEK / IMPERFETTOLAB GALLERY
Calle Henzel, Jwan yosef
Milan, 2025

MILAN DESIGN WEEK / CARLOCINQUE GALLERY
Calle Henzel, Anselm Reyle
Milan, 2025

SALONE DEL MOBILE / IMPERFETTOLAB
Calle Henzel
Milan, 2025

FRIEZE LOS ANGELES / PDC DESIGN GALLERY (formerly MOCA)
Henzel Studio Collaborations
Los Angeles, 2025

KALKERIET CONTEMPORARY
Mickalene Thomas, Jwan Yosef, Calle Henzel
Malmo, 2025

ART FOR NON-VIOLENCE
Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, Calle Henzel
Malmo, 2025

SALONE DEL MOBILE / ROSSANA ORLANDI
Mary McCartney
Milan, 2025

SALONE DEL MOBILE / MOHD OFFICINA
Calle Henzel
Milan, 2025

FRIEZE LA / MAISON LUNE VENICE
Calle Henzel
Los Angeles, 2025

FRIEZE LA / CULTUREEDIT GALLERY
Anselm Reyle
Los Angeles, 2025

FRIEZE LA / TWENTIETH
Calle Henzel
Los Angeles , 2025

KALKERIET CONTEMPORARY
Helmut Lang, Jwan Yosef
Malmo, 2025

ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH
Andy Warhol
Miami, 2025

KALKERIET CONTEMPORARY
Mary McCartney, Calle Henzel
Malmo, 2024

ROSSANA ORLANDI
Vanessa Beecroft, Mickalene Thomas, Mary McCartney
Porto Cervo, 2024

MOHD
Andy Warhol, Tom Hegen, Calle Henzel
Milan, 2024

TWENTIETH
Vanessa Beecroft, Nan Goldin, Kim Gordon, Katerina Jebb, Mary McCartney
Los Angeles, 2023

THE WEST HOLLYWOOD EDITION
10 Years of Henzel Studio Collaborations
Los Angeles, 2023

KALKERIET CONTEMORARY
Olaf Breuning, Calle Henzel
Malmo, 2023

FRIEZE LONDON NO.9 CORK STREET
Tom Hegen
London, 2022

ROSSANA ORLANDI GALLERY / FUORISALONE
Calle Henzel, Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd and Jwan Yosef
Milan, 2022

ARCHIPRODUCTS MILANO / FUORISALONE
Henzel Studio x Warhol and Calle Henzel
Milan, 2022

MOHD / FUORISALONE
Henzel Studio x Vanessa Beecroft
Milan, 2022

SALONE INTERNAZIONALE DEL MOBILE
Henzel Studio x Marilyn Minter
Milan, 2022

TWENTIETH GALLERY
Henzel Studio x Andy Warhol
Los Angeles, 2022

FROZEN PALMS GALLERY
Henzel Studio x Jwan Yosef
Los Angeles / Bastad, 2022

KESTNER GESELLSCHAFT
Henzel Studio Collaborations
Hannover, 202

2013 - 2021

ART BASEL MIAMI
Kim Gordon, Marilyn Minter, Mickalene Thomas
Miami, 2021

FUORISALONE, ROSSANA ORLANDI
Henzel Studio x Richard Prince
Milan, 2021

FROZEN PALMS GALLERY
Henzel Studio x Andy Warhol
Los Angeles / Bastad, 202

TWENTIETH GALLERY
Henzel Studio x Helmut Lang
Los Angeles, 2021

FROZEN PALMS GALLERY
Henzel Studio x Tom of Finland
Los Angeles / Bastad, 2021

CULTURE-EDIT
Henzel Studio x Tom of Finland
Los Angeles, 2020

SAINT LAURENT RIVE DROIT
Henzel Studio x Helmut Lang
Paris, 2020

ROSSANA ORLANDI
Henzel Studio x Mickalene Thomas
Milan, 2020

FROZEN PALMS GALLERY
Henzel Studio x Jwan Yosef
Los Angeles / Bastad, 2020

TWENTIETH
Henzel Studio x Helmut Lang
Los Angeles, 2020

ROSSANA ORLANDI
Henzel Studio x Mickalene Thomas
Porto Cervo, 2020

ROSSANA ORLANDI
Henzel Studio x Ashley Bickerton
Milan, 2020

THE GOSS-MICHAEL FOUNDATION
Auction benefiting The Goss-Michael Foundation
Henzel Studio Collaborations + Tom of Finland, Andy Warhol, Calle Henzel
Dallas, 2019

ART BASEL MIAMI
Henzel Studio x Patrick Church
Miami, 2019

THE NEW
HSC, Calle Henzel
Los Angeles, 2019

ROSSANA ORLANDI
HSC, Andy Warhol, Calle Henzel
Porto Cervo, 2020

GAVLAK GALLERY
Henzel Studio x Jack Pierson
Palm Beach, 2019

FUORISALONE, ROSSANA ORLANDI
Calle Henzel
Milan, 2019

FUORISALONE, ALCOVA SASSETTI
HSC, Andy Warhol, Calle Henzel
Milan, 2019

NOMAD ART FAIR / MASSIMO DE CARLO
Henzel Studio x Carsten Höller
St. Moritz, 2019

NOTTINGHAM CONTEMPORARY
Henzel Studio x Linder Sterling
Nottingham, 2018

ROSSANA ORLANDI
HSC, Calle Henzel
Porto Cervo, 2018

BOCA RATON MUSEUM OF ART
Henzel Studio x Lawrence Weiner & Marilyn Minter
Boca Raton, 2018

ARTSY X FROZEN PALMS GALLERY
Henzel Studio x Robert Knoke
Artsy Online Exclusive, 2018

ART BASEL / KOOKU GALLERY
Henzel Studio x Anselm Reyle & Wilhelm Sasnal
Basel, 2018

FUORISALONE, ROSSANA ORLANDI
Calle Henzel
Milan, 2018

JOYCE ART BASEL HONG KONG
HSC, Tom of Finland, Andy Warhol, Calle Henzel
Hong Kong, 2018

MOCA DETROIT
Henzel Studio x Tom of Finland
Detroit, 2018

FROZEN PALMS GALLERY
Henzel Studio x Tom of Finland
Gothenburg, 2018

MOHD
Henzel Studio x Andy Warhol
Catania, 2018

GALLERIA ANTONIO VEROLINO
Leo Gabin
Modena, 2018

FROZEN PALMS GALLERY
Henzel Studio x Wilhelm Sasnal
Los Angeles, 2018

MOMA PS1
Henzel Studio x Tom of Finland
New York, 2017

KATONAH MUSEUM
Henzel Studio x Richard Prince & Marilyn Minter
New York, 2017

CASA COR / ART BASEL MIAMI
HSC, Andy Warhol, Calle Henzel
Miami, 2017

OPERAE ART FAIR / SECONDOME GALLERY
Henzel Studio x Richard Prince
Turin, 2017

HUNDRED MILE
HSC, Calle Henzel, Andy Warhol, Tom of Finland
New York, 2017

57TH LA BIENNALE / INTERNI
Henzel Studio x Andy Warhol
Venezia, 2017

TANJA GRUNERT GALLERY / FRIEZE
HSC, Calle Henzel, Andy Warhol, Tom of Finland
New York, 2017

SELECTED PIECES BY LINDELOF
Henzel Studio x Andy Warhol
Stockholm, 2017

FUORISALONE, SUPERSTUDIO
Calle Henzel, Andy Warhol
Milan, 2017

PADDLE8 BENEFIT AUCTION
Benefiting GoodweaveHSC, Calle Henzel, Andy Warhol, Tom of Finland
New York, 2017

MOCA
Henzel Studio x Mickalene Thomas
Los Angeles, 2017

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART (MOCA)
Henzel Studio x Richard Prince & Marilyn Minter
Cleveland, 2016

SECONDOME GALLERY
Henzel Studio x Anselm Reyle
Rome, 2016

PALAZZO CISTERNA / SECONDOME GALLERY
Henzel Studio x Andy Warhol
Turin, 2016

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART (MOCA)
Andy Warhol
Cleveland, 2016

ART BASEL MIAMI / ANIMA DOMUS
Henzel Studio x Andy Warhol
Miami, 2016

ART BASEL MIAMI / WEBSTER
Henzel Studio x Andy Warhol
Miami, 2016

FUORISALONE, 5VIE ART+DESIGN
HSC, Calle Henzel, Andy Warhol, Tom of Finland
Milan, 2016

ARTEP GALLERY
Calle Henzel
Verona, 2016

MAISON & OBJET
Helmut Lang & Calle Henzel
Paris, 2016

COLETTE
HSC, Calle Henzel, Andy Warhol, Tom of Finland
Paris, 2015

FUORISALONE, SUPERSTUDIO
Calle Henzel, Andy Warhol
Milan, 2015

GAGOSIAN
Henzel Studio x Richard Prince
New York, 2015

FREE GALLERY
Henzel Studio x Juergen Teller
Tokyo, 2015

RELATIVE SPACE
HSC, Calle Henzel, Andy Warhol, Tom of Finland
Toronto, 2015

MAISON & OBJET
HSC, Calle Henzel, Andy Warhol, Tom of Finland
Paris, 2015

AUSTERE
HSC, Calle Henzel, Andy Warhol, Tom of Finland
Los Angeles, 2015

THE WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
Henzel Studio x Jack Pierson
New York, 2015

MOCA
Henzel Studio x Bernhard Willhelm
Los Angeles, 2015

ART BASEL MIAMI / ANIMA DOMUS
Calle Henzel
Miami, 2015

FUORISALONE, TEMPORARY MUSEUM OF NEW DESIGN
Calle Henzel, Helmut Lang, Anselm Reyle
Milan, 2014

LA ART SHOW / MINOTTI
HSC, Calle Henzel
Los Angeles, 2014

ART BASEL MIAMI
Henzel Studio x Mickalene Thomas
Miami, 2014

FUORISALONE, SUPERSTUDIO
Calle Henzel
Milan, 2013

BARNEYS MADISON AVENUE
HSC (Henzel Studio Collaborations)
New York, 2013