In the heart of Miami’s Design District, the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA Miami) offers a space that feels both serene and energetic—an ideal setting for a landmark retrospective of Colombian fiber artist Olga de Amaral’s work. Presented in collaboration with the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in Paris, where it originally drew over 220,000 visitors, the exhibition is now on view in Miami from May 1 to October 12.
Upon entering the third-floor gallery, visitors are greeted by a breathtaking display that instinctively draws the eye upward. Suspended from the soaring ceiling, framed by windows that open onto a canopy of trees, are more than 50 of de Amaral’s creations. Ranging in scale and material—from meticulously painted cotton threads to monumental woven tapestries made of linen, wool, and horsehair—her pieces are further transformed by applications of gesso, gold leaf, and silver leaf.
“From the beginning, we made a clear decision to focus on the works that question the autonomy of the piece and its relationship to the space and the wall—pieces suspended from the ceiling, works that become architecture, that occupy space, and that establish a dialogue with the landscape,” says Marie Perennès of Fondation Cartier, the exhibition’s originating curator.
Spanning six decades of de Amaral’s prolific career, the retrospective moves from early works like “Líneas en lino” (Lines in Linen) to “Cenit 2” (Zenith 2). The space was specially designed by Paris-based architect Lina Ghotmeh, who approached the layout not chronologically, but thematically—organizing the gallery by color and the emotional tone of each piece.
Visitors are first met with de Amaral’s recent “Brumas” series (2013–2018): delicate strands of cotton, painted and hung in geometric formations, evoke mist or cloud formations when viewed from different angles. As one moves through the “vertical forest” Ghotmeh has imagined, the palette shifts—from subdued neutrals to vibrant yellows, reds, and blues intertwined with silver threads—culminating in striking metallic golds and blacks from the “Estelas” series (1996).
De Amaral, now 92, has long been recognized as a pioneering figure in fiber art. After studying architecture and textile design in the 1950s, she returned to Bogotá to start an interior design business, working with Colombian weavers to create rugs and fabrics using local materials. “As she explored more deeply the expressive possibilities of textile as a medium, she began developing her own personal body of work,” Perennès says. By 1969, her art had been acquired by New York’s Museum of Modern Art, marking her arrival on the international stage.
“In the 1970s, specifically in North America, the understanding and discourse of contemporary art radically expanded, including a variety of media that were previously excluded from the art historical discourse,” says Stephanie Seidel, co-curator of the exhibit in Miami. “Fiber art was one of them, along with installation art, among others. De Amaral is a pioneer of international fiber art, whose work uniquely resonates across the contexts of architecture, textile, and contemporary art alike.”
Perennès adds: “[De Amaral’s] art transcends categories. It’s at once material and spiritual, rooted and universal, drawing from both ancient traditions and modernist experimentation.”
“As I build surfaces, I create spaces of meditation, contemplation, and reflection,” de Amaral explains in a press release. “Every small unit that forms the surface is not only significant in itself but is also deeply resonant of the whole. Likewise, the whole is deeply resonant of each individual element.”
Each piece in the exhibition stands as a testament to a particular era and exploration, yet together they form a singular surface—an expansive, immersive portrait of de Amaral’s life and vision: textured, ever-shifting, and wholly alive.
