Olga de Amaral

Olga de Amaral is a Colombian textile and visual artist renowned for her abstract creations crafted from fibers and adorned with gold and/or silver leaf.

Biography of Olga de Amaral

Olga de Amaral, born Olga Ceballos Velez in 1932, was raised in a traditional neighborhood in Bogotá surrounded by a nurturing family environment. 

Upon completing high school, she pursued a degree in Architectural Design at the Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca in Bogotá from 1951 to 1952. After completing her studies, she served as the director of the Architectural Drawing Faculty at the same institution for one year.

In 1954, de Amaral traveled to New York City to study English at Columbia University. From 1954 to 1955, she pursued studies in fiber art at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. There, she met Jim Amaral, and they developed a close friendship. After a year at Cranbrook, de Amaral returned to Colombia in 1955 and began creating decorative textiles on commission for her architect acquaintances. Meanwhile, Jim Amaral served in the U.S. Navy stationed in the Philippines. In 1956, Jim visited Olga in Colombia for what was initially intended to be a brief visit. They married in 1957 and settled in Bogotá, where they established a workshop for handwoven textiles.

From 1966 to 1967, the Amaral family resided in New York City, where Olga became acquainted with Eileen Vanderbilt from the World Crafts Council (WCC) and assumed the role of the Council's Colombian representative. Through collaboration with Vanderbilt, Olga exhibited her tapestries in New York City.

Upon returning to Colombia, the Amarals embarked on travels. Olga visited Peru as a representative of the WCC and participated in a conference in Ireland, where she encountered Lucie Rie, a British ceramist whose work inspired Olga to incorporate gold into her tapestries. In the early 1970s, the Amarals relocated to Barcelona and then Paris, where they toured several European countries and established connections with European art centers.

After some time in Europe, they returned to Bogotá, explored various regions of Colombia, and later revisited France, engaging in exhibitions and artistic endeavors, and cultivating new friendships. Currently, Olga de Amaral lives and works in Bogotá.

Olga de Amaral's Art Style

Olga de Amaral is recognized as a Colombian textile artist celebrated for her site-specific installations. She employs diverse materials, including gold leaf, fiberglass, paint, and traditional fibers, to create three-dimensional installations. These creations are often displayed either flat against the wall or suspended from the ceiling with transparent architectural supports, evoking clouds. Amaral draws inspiration from various sources, including her native landscape, pre-Colombian textiles and baskets, gold Catholic Church relics, and geometric abstraction.

From its inception, Olga de Amaral's art has been propelled by the endeavor to redefine our conceptions of unity, concept, representation, and personal expression. She delves into and revisits concepts, techniques, and processes, continually seeking subtle and intricate variations within her own artistic journey.