Olga de Amaral

Olga de Amaral spins base matter into fields of colour and weaves tectonic lines through space, continually redefining the possibilities of fibre as an artistic medium. From the flat surfaces of tapestry through to resolutely three-dimensional sculptural forms made from fibre, the Colombian artist’s work spans more than 60 years, in turn reaching even further back to the spiritual qualities and ancient craquelure of medieval icon paintings or else the rigour and simplicity of the modernist grid, as if run through a loom. Developing her own tools and techniques, while relying on the hand for her strip-woven expanses of wool, linen and cotton, Amaral has also knotted reams of horsehair together and bolstered her fabric works through a painterly application of gesso or stucco, often highlighting the reverse, or foregrounding the edges. Working not only on the floor or the wall, Amaral carves up interiors with her hanging tapestries, and creates floating formations from yarn or plastic. Amaral’s travels are reflected in her wide range of international influences. After an encounter with the Japanese technique of kintsugi at the ceramics studio of British potter Lucie Rie in 1970, for example, Amaral began employing gold leaf, layered and intertwined within the fabric of her hand-woven textiles. Amaral’s work also references religious and ceremonial dimensions prescribed to gold through the pre-Columbian worship of the substance.