The Brooklyn Rail

At ninety-three years of age, Olga de Amaral continues to challenge the boundaries of textile art. Entering her world means encountering a cartography of territories, where she creates abstract, three-dimensional forms that redefine landscape representation. Her consistent practice, spanning six decades, has established her as a pivotal figure in the multidisciplinary and transnational fiber art network of the 1960s, a legacy she shares with artists like Magdalena Abakanowicz, Sheila Hicks, and Lenore Tawney. Thanks to these pioneers, the debate about whether tapestry belongs in the realm of contemporary art or should be considered solely as design or craft has been settled. Yet, as this exhibition demonstrates, Amaral continues to complicate those narratives in her own unique way.

Organized in collaboration with the Fondation Cartier, the Olga de Amaral exhibition at the ICA Miami is the artist's first major exhibition in the United States. Curators Marie Perennès and Stephanie Seidel have presented a more condensed version of the highly visited show that opened in Paris last year. Showcasing over fifty works, the exhibition features mostly large pieces, providing a comprehensive look at her career. The exhibition is housed in a single gallery with a window that frames Miami's lush green landscape. Architect Lina Ghotmeh designed this gallery as an open-plan labyrinth that blends different time periods and techniques. Walking through this space, I was struck by the two groupings of works that create microclimates reminiscent of a vast forest, a design choice that beautifully echoes Amaral's deep connection to nature. Viewing the artworks from multiple perspectives is essential; they are suspended from the ceiling, a choice that emphasizes their unique status as textile art, inviting the viewer to appreciate Amaral’s works from both sides.

The journey begins with the recent series, “Brumas” (2014–18), a testament to her continued creative vitality. These cloud-like formations of linen threads, hardened with plaster and painted, hang from a flat surface and beckon viewers to walk underneath. Though not intended for physical entry, these pieces subtly reference Jesús Rafael Soto’s “Penetrables.” Due to their dynamic nature, every viewing angle offers a different perspective of color and form, as if a misty fog is shifting. At the very end of the gallery, the exhibition includes gold-leaf pieces from the “Estelas” series (1996–2018) that remind us of giant gold nuggets. These works refract and absorb light in ways opposite to the “Brumas,” recalling pre-Columbian goldwork from archaeological sites while also connecting to the region's current, and often illegal, gold mines.

Amaral's exploration of reflective and refractive properties extends beyond gold and silver, and is central to her research on materials in general. The front of Luz blanca [White Light] (1969/2010) consists of hundreds of layered transparent polyethylene sheets, with the back revealing a cotton grid with knotted plastic. The work is not a traditional veil; rather, it is a piece made of transparent material that functions as a barrier, in contrast to her wool pieces through which light subtly passes. Riscos en sombra [Cliffs in Shadow] (1985), Tierra y oro 11 [Earth and Gold 11](1988) and Entorno quieto 2 [Quiet Surroundings 2] (1992) are composed of hundreds of woven strips of wool and horsehair. Very thin threads control the tension between the strips making them tighter or looser. The light that passes between the fibers creates a mesmerizing moiré effect. From a distance, they resemble an aerial view of rivers in a dense jungle, and as a viewer moves closer and around, new rivers appear and disappear. This interplay of scale and perspective is a recurring theme.

When the loom frame became too narrow for the dimensions she sought, Amaral combined haute-lisse (high warp, vertical weft) and basse-lisse (low warp, horizontal weft) techniques to initiate a new type of work. Trained as an architect, Olga de Amaral references calicanto in her work, a bricklaying technique common in Bogotá. This technique creates a distinctive architectural pattern that is part of the city's identity, and Amaral's approach to layering establishes a close relationship between modernity and the pottery traditions that date back to indigenous cultures. The exhibition includes two panels (130 by 175 ¼ inches) from Gran muro [Great Wall] (1976), a monumental sixteen-module work—the largest she ever created. This piece, made from wool, horsehair, and synthetic fibers of earth tones, was originally installed as the backbone of the Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Atlanta, which invited visitors to walk around it.

At sunset, light entering the gallery creates a truly scenic moment that enhances the experience. This is especially true for her work, Farallón al ocaso [Cliff at Sunset] (1972), which consists of unrolled, dyed wool and horsehair in a palette of earth tones. Woven and braided together, the piece forms a cap-like shape, evoking ceremonial garments and highlighting the material's three-dimensional potential in a fleeting, breathtaking display of color.

Olga de Amaral’s work is deeply rooted in tapestry traditions that stretch back to the Middle Ages. As she emphasizes, for the last twenty-five years, her creations have been infused with Colombian vitality, thanks to the seven women—“seven lives, fourteen hands”—who work alongside her. This exhibition affirms Amaral's place as a key figure who masterfully bridges traditional craft with contemporary art. In her breathtaking forms, she connects personal history and cultural legacy, creating a powerful and timeless body of work. This show's genius lies not just in its celebration of a master artist, but in its ability to reveal how she has continually pushed her own boundaries, continuously finding new expressions of form and light.