In the world of contemporary art, few figures stand out as distinctly as Olga de Amaral.
Known for her innovative approach to textile art, Olga de Amaral has spent more than six decades transforming traditional weaving techniques into expansive, immersive works that blur the boundaries between painting, sculpture, and installation. Her monumental tapestries, often gilded with gold leaf, are a deeply symbolic reflection on history, geography, and cultural memory.
Today, Olga de Amaral’s tapestries are gaining unprecedented recognition in the United States and in the world. Exhibited in top institutions and highly sought after in the art market, her works have become key examples of how Latin American textile art has evolved into a powerful contemporary form.
From Bogotá to the Global Art Scene
Born in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1932, Olga de Amaral trained in architectural design before discovering fiber as a medium. Olga de Amaral education at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan in the 1950s exposed her to a modernist approach to fiber art. She encountered weaving not merely as craft, but as a form of abstract expression and structural experimentation.
Returning to Colombia, she founded the textile department at the Universidad de los Andes, where she began to explore monumental weaving techniques. These early explorations laid the foundation for her later masterpieces: complex fiber sculptures and tapestries that invite to visual contemplation and physical and emotional immersion.
Beyond Weaving: Tapestry as Sculpture
One of the most striking aspects of Olga de Amaral’s practice is how she transcends the traditional boundaries of the tapestry. Olga de Amaral artworks are not flat or decorative. Instead, they are often suspended, folded, layered, or arranged in architectural configurations. She builds depth with repetition, layering thousands of handwoven strands and treating their surfaces with gesso, pigments, and precious metals.
Her signature use of gold leaf: inspired by Colombia’s pre-Hispanic traditions and Catholic religious iconography, it elevates her tapestries into luminous, sacred forms. Works like Estelas, Alquimias, and Lunas are emblematic of this approach, offering an aesthetic experience and a sense of transcendence and connection to ancient materials and rituals.
Olga de Amaral’s work is deeply rooted in Colombian geography, spirituality, and craft traditions. The mountains, gold mines, indigenous patterns, and colonial architecture of her homeland appear abstracted in her compositions. She has said that her art seeks to “create spaces of silence,” and indeed, standing before one of her monumental fiber pieces often feels like entering a quiet sanctuary.
Her process is intuitive and ritualistic. She starts with natural fibers, often linen, wool, or horsehair, and weaves or knots them by hand. She then applies acrylic paint, gesso, or metallic leaf, treating each square of fabric like a canvas. The result is a body of work that speaks both to tradition and innovation, local identity, and global abstraction.
Olga de Amaral in the United States
Over the past two decades, Olga de Amaral’s textile art has gained significant momentum in the U.S. art world. Major institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, have acquired her works for their permanent collection. These acquisitions reflect a broader trend: the growing institutional interest in Latin American artists, especially women whose contributions have historically been overlooked.
One of the most notable exhibitions in recent years was “To Weave a Rock,” a retrospective co-organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Cranbrook Art Museum in 2021. This show introduced new audiences to the depth and complexity of de Amaral’s practice, positioning her not only as a textile innovator but as a key figure in the canon of modern fiber art.
In 2024, a major retrospective of Olga de Amaral opened at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami), reaffirming her legacy for new generations. These shows are helping to shift public perception of textiles from decorative craft to fine art—a transformation in which de Amaral’s role is undeniable.
Market Value and Art Investment
Beyond institutional recognition, Olga de Amaral’s tapestries have also become highly desirable in the art market. In recent years, several of Olga de Amaral’s artworks have sold for over a million dollars at international auctions. Notably, a piece sold at Phillips New York for $1.17 million.
This surge in value reflects not only the scarcity of her large-scale tapestries, each of which takes months, if not years, to complete, but also their growing reputation as long-term investments. For collectors in the U.S., owning a de Amaral piece means holding a part of Latin American art history, as well as a unique example of how traditional materials can be transformed into modern, sculptural forms.
With demand increasing and major museums validating her place in contemporary art history, many see de Amaral’s work as a compelling opportunity for art investment. Her pieces bridge multiple collecting categories: fiber art, Latin American art, modern abstraction, and sculptural installation, making them especially attractive in a diversified portfolio.
A Pioneer of Fiber Art in the 21st Century
In the current wave of interest in textile art exhibitions and fiber sculpture installations, de Amaral stands at the forefront. Younger artists cite her as a pioneer, and curators are increasingly including her work in major thematic shows about materiality, women in abstraction, and Latin American modernism.
What distinguishes de Amaral’s tapestries is their refusal to settle into one identity. They are tapestries, yes, but also walls, monuments, fields of light. They are at once intimate and expansive, tactile and transcendent. Through them, she has forged a new visual language one that bridges craft and concept, past and present.
The Future of Olga de Amaral’s Legacy
As U.S. audiences continue to embrace more diverse voices in contemporary art, the significance of Olga de Amaral’s work is only expected to grow. With upcoming shows, growing collector interest, and a rich legacy of innovation, her name is becoming synonymous with the global revival of textile art and the revaluation of handwoven forms.
At Duque Arango, we are proud to offer a curated selection of original works by Olga de Amaral, reflecting our longstanding expertise in Latin American modern and contemporary art. With. 40 years of experience representing museum-grade artists, we have accompanied collectors in acquiring some of de Amaral’s most iconic pieces: textile works that merge technique, symbolism, and historical resonance.
Our gallery’s commitment to excellence ensures that each artwork is more than an acquisition: it is a lasting investment in one of Colombia’s most celebrated artistic legacies.
