Olga de Amaral (Colombian, b. 1932), Lost Image No. 15

Linen, gesso, acrylic, Japanese paper, silver leaf and gold leaf, 1992, signed, a label affixed to the verso is inscribed "684 'Lost Image # 15' / 40" x 67" / Olga de Amaral / Oct 1992 (artist's signature)."

Included with the lot are two exhibition catalogues, Olga de Amaral: Nine Stelae and Other Landscapes and Olga de Amaral: Cuatro Tiempos.

40 x 67 in.

The Contemporary Art Collection of Francine & Benson Pilloff, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Collection of the Artist
The Allrich Gallery, San Francisco, California (1995)

Published:
Leenhardt, Jacques. Olga de Amaral: El arte de tejer. Exhibition catalog. Barranquilla: Salón Cultural Avianca, 1993, p. 11.

Exhibited:
Olga de Amaral: Lost Images, Inherited Landscapes. The Allrich Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA, from March 25 through May 8, 1993.
Olga de Amaral: El arte de tejer. Salón Cultural Avianca, Barranquilla, Colombia, October 1993.
Olga de Amaral: Cuatro tiempos. Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá, Colombia, from November 1993 through February 1994.
Olga de Amaral: Monoliths and Other Landscapes. Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, August 22 to October 5, 1997.

Olga de Amaral is a celebrated Colombian artist renowned for her innovative approach to textiles and fiber art, which bridges the gap between fine art and traditional craft. Born in Bogotá, she initially studied architectural design, which influenced her interest in structure and spatial dynamics. Her passion for weaving and textiles led her to study at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, where she honed her skills in fiber arts. Amaral’s early works were heavily influenced by indigenous Colombian weaving traditions, but she soon began experimenting with new materials and techniques, incorporating gold leaf, paint, and other unconventional elements to transform her woven works into sculptural and painterly creations.
Throughout her career, Amaral has drawn inspiration from Colombia's rich cultural heritage, nature, and pre-Columbian art. Her works explore themes of memory, identity, and spirituality, often blurring the boundaries between art, craft, and architecture. By incorporating materials such as horsehair, linen, and metallic threads, she creates textured surfaces that evoke landscapes, light, and the cosmos. Her use of gold leaf, a hallmark of her style, reflects Colombia’s history of gold craftsmanship and her fascination with the material's sacred and luminous qualities. Amaral's pieces often engage with space, inviting viewers to reflect on the interplay between light, shadow, and form.
Olga de Amaral’s work has been exhibited in prestigious galleries and museums worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Her contributions to contemporary art have earned her numerous accolades, including the Smithsonian Institution's Visionary Artist Award. In October 2024 and open through March 16, 2025, the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain in Paris, is exhibiting the first major retrospective in Europe of Olga de Amaral.

The reverse of several small fabric pieces along the outer edges of the textile have some lifting to the applied surfaces.