MANCHESTER, NH.- The Currier Museum of Art announces Everything Is Construction and Color, a showcase of distinctive works by Olga de Amaral (b. 1932, Bogotá) opening in the museum’s Welcome Gallery on Thursday, August 29. De Amaral merges the fields of textiles, craft, and design, making her work a natural addition to the museum’s ongoing series of installations exploring the relationship between crafts and the visual arts.

The exhibition title, Everything is Construction and Color, comes from a quote by the artist that synthesizes her methodology as well as her approach to the world. De Amaral comes from a family of engineers, which influenced her interest in the mechanics of weaving and art-making, as well as her enduring commitment to experimentation. She often works with locally sourced materials such as raw wool, wood branches, luffa, horsehair, plastic, and most notably, gold, the use of which was first inspired by a trip to Japan, where she became acquainted with the practice of kintsugi – the art of reassembling broken pottery with gold.

While De Amaral is globally recognized for her seminal contribution to fiber art, she is also considered one of the most important abstract artists in Latin America. De Amaral studied architectural design at Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca, prior to attending Cranbrook Academy of Art in the United States, where she majored in weaving and textile design. As the founder of the Textile Department at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, De Amaral established her international reputation in the late 1960s. She was Colombia’s representative at the World Crafts Council between 1968 and 1972, and in 1973, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, which allowed her to work in Paris. Subsequently, she represented Colombia at the 42nd Venice Biennial in 1986, and has since participated in numerous exhibitions worldwide.

Her work is presently included in the 60th Venice Biennale, curated by Adriano Pedrosa and titled Stranieri Ovunque (Strangers Everywhere). In the fall of 2024, the Fondation Cartier in Paris will present her largest and most comprehensive European retrospective.

The presentation of De Amaral’s work at the Currier includes seminal works from her Lienzo series, as well as a work with gold leaf titled Viento 2 (2014) and the monumental 2012 Nudo XII (negro), a large knot of black threads that descend from the ceiling like a column.

Olga de Amaral: Everything Is Construction and Color is on view from August 29, 2024 through January 12, 2025. This exhibition is generously supported by M. Christine Dwyer and Michael Huxtable. Additional support was provided by the Lisson Gallery.