Olga de Amaral Imbues the Fondation Cartier with Fiber Art
This is the first major European retrospective devoted to Colombian artist Olga de Amaral, a leading figure of the Fiber Art movement. Born and raised in Bogotá, the artist moved to the United States in the 1960s, finding herself at the very place where Fiber Art was seeing its heyday, to which she contributed significantly alongside fellow pioneers Sheila Hicks, Magdalena Abakanowicz and Lenore Tawney.
Drawing from ancestral Precolombian techniques, all while embracing abstraction and modernist principles, Olga de Amaral forged a style in its own right that stands out for its innovative character and revolutionary approach to textile art, which allows her to avoid falling into conventional categorization. Somewhere between painting, sculpture, object and installation, her works build a bridge between visual arts and crafts, displaying the expressive potential of textiles and weaving.
To pay homage to her remarkable artistic career, the Fondation Carter is devoting to her this retrospective, which highlights Olga de Amaral’s work in all its complexity. The exhibition presents an in-depth account of the artist’s practice, tracing its evolution through some 80 works. To design the exhibition spaces, Franco-Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh has plunged herself into the core of Olga de Amaral’s inspirations, a marvel running until March 16th, 2025. The exhibition is curated by Marie Perennès. This is the Fondation Cartier’s last exhibition on Boulevard Raspail before its relocation to Place du Palais-Royal next year.
During the exhibition opening, held this Thursday, October 10th, we crossed paths with Jean Nouvel, Laurent Le Bon, Lina Gothmeh, Agnes Monplaisir, Rosalie Varda and Guillermo Kuitca.
Photos: Ayka Lux
