“Making Things” Tour

The Colombian artist Olga de Amaral has contributed to the transformation of the textile medium. Measuring seven meters high by eight meters wide, Muro en rojos is part of the Muros tejidos, or “woven walls” series, in which she explores the tridimensionality of textile. Freed both from its decorative function and its dependence on the wall, textile art here displays an entirely sculptural and even architectural quality. Composed of six panels encompassing thousands of cloth strips, this work is emblematic of de Amaral’s experimentations with the relationship between space, color, and material, with inspiration drawn from the landscapes of her native country. With its yellow, ochre, and red colors, the work reflects the artist’s attachment to Colombian landscapes, evoking both fallen autumn leaves, and the bricks of Bogota houses.

A Mexican ceramic artist and member of the International Academy of Ceramics since 1994, Gustavo Pérez has developed an approach to contemporary ceramics that combines technical rigor and artistic freedom. Each of his hand-crafted vessels is decorated with engraved or sculpted motifs created using metallic blades or tools of his own design, evoking natural movements or architectural forms. The artist uses sober colors to better showcase the textures, incisions, and reliefs of the medium’s material. The incisions, colored with enamels, are not merely decorative; they contribute to the overall balance of each piece. Seeking to push the boundaries of contemporary ceramics, Pérez creates vessels that transcend their utilitarian functions to become timeless pieces of art.

A figure from the second generation of American abstract expressionism, Joan Michell first traveled then immigrated to Paris in 1955, where she discovered the paintings of Monet and the French Impressionists. In her work, she combined the influences of these two movements and sought to convey the emotion aroused by contact with nature. This major piece showcases this commitment to a “sentient” abstraction, expressed through deep colors and free forms. The painting, inspired by the artist’s childhood memories, evokes a remote marsh near Nantes, lit by an agitated sky. The floral colors are interrupted by streaks of black, indications of the artist’s distress at a time when she had recently lost a loved one.

Since the late 1980s, Jean-Michel Othoniel has been seeking to reinvent sculptural practice, bringing back the use of precious materials in a language that is at once poetic and symbolic. Paysage amoureux is composed of strings of beads adorned with rings and blown glass hearts, a technique the artist has turned into his signature. Playing with the geometry and repetition of elements and motifs, this sculpture is reminiscent of jewelry. Behind its apparent formal lightness, the work presents objects symbolizing romantic passion and celebrates an erotic relationship to the body, in a drive to re-enchant human relationships, in their vulnerability and beauty. More than merely ornamental, for the artist, beauty is a way of striving for humans’ harmonization with their environment.