Gerhard Richter, Abstract Painting (809-3), 1994. Oil on canvas, 90 x 80.6 x 3 in., National Galleries of Scotland, © Gerhard Richter
The present lot is a gleaming work by Colombian artist Olga de Amaral, emulating mental precision, chromatic conviction and manual dexterity. The physical complexity and sophisticated aesthetics of her textiles, such as the present lot have transcended this ancient technique and enabled her to bridge the relationship between art and craf. De Amaral received a formal education at Cranbrook Academy in Michigan, which she coupled with an acute knowledge of textiles gathered from her extensive travels. She thus obtained an invaluable, practical knowledge in the art of weaving from diferent cultures around the world. One of the most infuential textiles for de Amaral was Andean weaving techniques from Peru. This technique informed her most important period of gold and silver textiles. During this mature period within her oeuvre, de Amaral began using strips of textured linen and braiding threads that she coated with paint as well as gold and silver leaf. This preparation of textured linen constitutes arduous manual work that takes a signifcant amount of time, and ultimately results in the astounding compact geometric repetitions and ravishing patterns for which she is well known. More importantly, these intricate
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patterns also pose an ongoing question that is faced by painters: the matter of how to deal with superposition and layering. These techniques, typically utilized by painters, help capture light in a canvas and add depth to a work of art. Olga de Amaral brilliantly applies this basic principle to her work by superimposing layers of thread in her textiles. She began experimenting with layering very early on in her career, as seen in works as early as Entrelazado en naranja, gris, multicolor (1969) and refected later in her Lienzo ceremonial 5 (1989). In these two examples de Amaral hand braided threads over woven threads in a loom, which created an “aerial interplay of light, [and] an unstable surface plane” as aptly stated by Jacques Leenhardt (J. Leenhardt, Olga de Amaral – The Mantle of Memory, Amaral Editores, Colombia, 2013, p. 174). This experimentation in layering later culminated with the use of gold leaf, which ultimately gave her works a sculptural depth in addition to capturing light. The interlacing in her weavings became much more complex and the texture became denser adding dimensionality, clearly emulated in the present lot. This dense texture was also produced by the incorporation of gesso, used in the application of the gold leaf, creating sophisticated
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