Olga de Amaral

A major retrospective of pioneering fiber artist Olga de Amaral (b. 1932, Bogotá, Colombia) opens at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami) this spring, bringing together over 50 works from six decades, and featuring recent and historical examples, some of which have never been presented outside of her home country. Presented in collaboration with the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in Paris, Olga de Amaral reveals the breadth and complexity of the artist’s practice, highlighting crucial periods in the development of her career as she moved from colorful explorations of the grid to experiments with materiality and scale. On view May 1 through October 12, the Miami presentation is organized by former Fondation Cartier curator Marie Perennès and Stephanie Seidel, ICA Miami’s Monica and Blake Grossman Curator, after a tremendous success at the Fondation Cartier.

Amaral’s sculptures and installations push the boundaries of fiber art, often combining weaving, knotting, and braiding to create striking abstract three-dimensional forms. Her earliest explorations, from the 1960s, frequently take inspiration from nature and feature unconventional weaving techniques. During the 1970s, Amaral created a group of monumental wall works; superimposing constructed layers of wool and horsehair enabled her to work at scale, evoking brick walls, leaves, and geological layers. Her investigations would also lead her to experiment with paint, linen, cotton, gesso, gold leaf, and palladium.