Olga de Amaral
Olga de Amaral, born in 1932 in Bogotá, is regarded as one of the most important abstract artists in Latin America, with her influence resonating far beyond its borders. At Phillips’ Modern and Contemporary sale, her gold-gilded textile Imagen Perdida 27 sold for $1.2 million—an extraordinary result that not only reflected the growing demand for her work but also broke her previous record of $698,500, set just a year earlier.
Amaral began her studies in architectural design at Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca from 1951 to 1952. Later, from 1954 to 1955, she attended the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. It was in Marianne Strengell’s weaving workshop that she first discovered textile art.
Since the 1960s, Amaral has been redefining the limits of textile art. She works with materials like linen, cotton, horsehair, gesso, gold leaf, and palladium, using techniques such as weaving, knotting, braiding, and interweaving to create monumental three-dimensional pieces.
Her work blends Modernist influences from Cranbrook with Colombian vernacular traditions and pre-Columbian art, making it difficult to categorize.
Fondation Cartier presents the first major retrospective in Europe of Colombian artist Olga de AmaralImage: © Marc Domage
Amaral has always had a deep, almost instinctual relationship with color. “I live color,” she once said. “I know it’s an unconscious language, and I understand it. Color is like a friend; it accompanies me.” At Cranbrook, she developed this connection further, experimenting with material, composition, and geometry. When she returned to Colombia in 1955, she combined techniques learned in the U.S. with traditional local textile practices. The landscapes of Colombia—the Andes, valleys, and tropical plains—became a major source of inspiration for her.
Two series exemplify her artistic voice. Estelas, which began in 1996, are gilded stelae made of rigid woven cotton, coated in gesso, paint, and gold leaf—completely obscuring the textile surface. In the 1970s, through her friend Lucie Rie, she discovered the Japanese art of kintsugi, and gold soon became her favorite material, transforming her works into radiant, light-catching surfaces.
Installation view of Estelas (Stars), series, displayed at Fondation Cartier, Paris, 2024, Olga de AmaraImage: © Cyril Marcilhacy
During the 1960s and 1970s, Amaral was a key figure in the development of Fiber Art, alongside artists like Sheila Hicks and Magdalena Abakanowicz. Her large-scale works break free from the wall, blending painting, sculpture, installation, and architecture to envelop the viewer in a fully sensorial experience. Her contributions have earned her wide recognition. In 2005, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York named her a “Visionary Artist.” In 2019, she received the Women's Caucus for Art Lifetime Achievement Award. Her works are held in major institutions including Tate Modern and MoMA. In 2021, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston hosted a major exhibition dedicated to her.
Exhibition view of the retrospective of Colombian artist Olga de Amaral at Fondation CartierImage: © Marc Domage
Amaral is know for working with natural materials like jute, cotton, clay, Japanese paper, and gold—often inspired by the aesthetics of kintsugi. As the founder of the Textile Department at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, she gained international recognition in the late 1960s. Between 1968 and 1972, she represented Colombia at the World Crafts Council. In 1973, she received a Guggenheim Fellowship to work in New York and has participated in numerous exhibitions around the world.
Olga de Amaral’s lifelong commitment to exploring the possibilities of textile and abstract art has firmly established her legacy as a visionary. Through material, color, and form, she continues to inspire a new generation of artists and reshape how the world views fiber as fine art.
