Fondation Cartier, Paris - October 12, 2024 to March 16, 2025
Olga de Amaral, a pioneer of Fiber Art, has been redefining textiles since the 1960s, giving them a sculptural and mystical dimension. The Fondation Cartier pays tribute to her with a major retrospective - the first of its kind in Europe - unfolding a career in which thread, material and light intertwine in vibrant landscapes.
Her monumental works with their golden surfaces transform textiles into a hybrid medium, somewhere between painting, sculpture and installation. Her technique - meticulous and alchemical - pushes the limits of the material to create pieces where each thread becomes a part of herself.
Matter as language
From her early days at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in the United States, Amaral distinguished herself with an approach that combined structure and texture. While her teacher, Marianne Strengell, taught her the importance of the textile grid, Olga de Amaral transcended it by exploring unexpected mixes of materials. Linen, cotton, horsehair and paper generated the first pieces in which structural order was abandoned in favor of dazzling formal freedom.
Amaral's technique is based on the transformation of materials: gesso to stiffen textiles, gold or palladium leaf to capture and reflect light. Textiles are transformed into a shiny, moving screen.
In the Brumas and Estelas series, floating forms and dense textures create abstract landscapes, inviting the viewer to a contemplative immersion.
A sensory experience at the Fondation Cartier
The exhibition, designed by renowned architect Lina Ghotmeh, reveals the spatial power of Olga de Amaral's work. The rooms play with contrasts of scale and light to highlight the artist's evolution.
The first floor showcases his historic works from the 1960s and 1970s, never before presented outside Colombia. Here, textiles break free from the wall: some pieces float, while others erect massive structures. The artist's audacity defies the two-dimensionality of textiles.
At the center of the exhibition, golden works dazzle. In the Oro and Alquimia series, gold leaf applied to the fibers creates a mystical effect. The material comes alive, its reflection changing with the visitor's footsteps. Each movement becomes a unique encounter.
The tour concludes with his most recent creations, in which Amaral explores color with a new intensity. Bursts of cobalt blue, deep red and solar yellow explode on textured surfaces. These compositions bear witness to an artist in search of renewal, capable of embracing abstraction while remaining rooted in exemplary craftsmanship.
The influence of Olga de Amaral: a timeless artist
Olga de Amaral rejects imposed categories. Her works are not tapestries, sculptures or paintings, but a subtle blend of all of these. Her influence extends beyond textile art, inspiring contemporary artists in fields ranging from architecture to design.
The exhibition at the Fondation Cartier recalls Amaral's decisive role in the emergence of Fiber Art, alongside Sheila Hicks and Magdalena Abakanowicz. Above all, it reveals an artist for whom matter, color and light are the tools of universal visual poetry.
For further information: Fondation Cartier.
