The return of wallpaper has been one of my favorite home design comebacks in recent years. Instead of grandmotherly florals and eye-searing ’70s colors, modern wallpaper features baroque-inspired patterns, Scandinavian-style florals, and graphic lines.
Minneapolis-based creative studio Area Environments has taken the wallpaper game to the next level by collaborating with contemporary artists from around the globe—including NANÜK Design of Paris, Slovenian artist Dusa Jesih, and Minnesota’s own Greg Gossel and Michael Cina, making it possible to cover your walls in art, literally.
The latest to join the Area family is San Francisco–based artist Aaron De La Cruz, who was named one of the “25 Most Important Artists” by Complex Magazine in 2011. Known for his graphic and bold yet minimal, graffiti-inspired style and bright pastel color palette, De La Cruz is no stranger to creating large-scale works, making his work ideal to translate to the medium of wallpaper. His new wallpaper line for Area Environments is the first of a new collection series, dubbed the PFxAE Exhibition Collection, produced in collaboration with Northeast gallery Public Functionary. The limited-edition series will be introduced at the opening of De La Cruz’s solo exhibition, Always Something, this Saturday at Public Functionary, which is known for its immersive, fully realized exhibition designs. In addition to a full-scale gallery wallpaper installation, the show includes new original paintings and a large-scale, hand-painted mural. The line will be available for purchase in early 2016 via areaenvironments.com.
Opening reception: 7 p.m.–midnight Sat. Nov. 7; on view 4–8 p.m. Tue., noon–4 p.m. Wed., noon–8 p.m. Fri., and 7–11 p.m. Sat. through Dec. 5 @ Public Functionary, 1400 12th Ave. N.E., Mpls. (enter on Buchanon St. N.E.), publicfunctionary.org
De La Cruz at work on his mural at Public Functionary
Courtesy Public Functionary
Detail of De La Cruz’s artwork from Always Something
Courtesy Public Functionary
Detail of De La Cruz’s work from Always Something
Courtesy Public Functionary
De La Cruz at work in his studio
Courtesy Public Functionary
