A new art gallery showroom experience is opening at Eastview Mall. It’s a space where world-renowned art becomes limited-edition hand-knotted rugs for sale. Art Interpreted opens Saturday, May 13.

Reza Nejad-Sattari opened Oriental Rug Mart in 2007. He can tell you where a rug was handmade just by feeling it.

What You Need To Know

  • A gallery of artwork from sculptor Albert Paley and glass artist Josh Simpson will be on display at Art Interpreted at Eastview Mall throughout the month of May

  • Visit Art Interpreted at any time in May to view and admire the pieces on display

  • Artists are collaborating with the Oriental Rug Mart to feature their art designs on hand-knotted, limited edition wool rugs

“Rugs, I started in the business of rugs, but when I was a child my grandmother and my mother also made rugs as a hobby,” said Nejad-Sattari, owner of Oriental Rug Mart and Art Interpreted at Eastview Mall.

Rugs mean so much to him. They are more than just cushion under foot. They transform a room. They make you feel something. He buys rugs from all over the world and has rugs custom-made or his clients.

His Oriental Rug Mart at Eastview Mall is a blend of tradition and modern art. He is so inspired that he is opening Art Interpreted at Eastview. It’s right across from his store. It’s a collaboration with famous artists. Their artwork is on the rugs.

“They treat it not only like a rug, but like art,” Nejad-Sattari said. “This is what it is supposed to be, and in the future hopefully it will be a collectable point of view.”

He is setting up his first Art Interpreted rug series with one of the most prominent and influential metal sculptors in the world, who happens to call Rochester home. Albert Paley is sharing his designs in this unique collaboration.

“This rug that we are working on now was derived from this print,” Paley said. “This print as you see the initial form was drawn, and as one form goes on top of another, you get a real sense of depth.”

This means that you could own a limited edition, numbered, wool rug with a silk Albert Paley signature. Paley's work is in public and private collections all over the world. He is also a professor of Art & Design at RIT.

“You have the play of forms as they interlock,” Paley said. “For the viewer, you experience that compositional reality.”

It is art you can walk on or go vertical with. Whatever you do, at home or at your place of business, a Paley rug will make a statement.

Art Interpreted has an upcoming series with the artists. You can meet Albert Paley, see his sculptures and shop for these limited edition rugs Saturday, May 13 at 5 p.m. It is free and open to the public. Glass artist Josh Simpson is the next guest Friday, May 19. You are asked to pre-register at socialmedia@orientalrugmart.com.