current exhibition

Olga de Amaral: Everything is Construction and Color

On view August 29, 2024 – January 12, 2025

Olga de Amaral
Viento 2, 2014 (detail)
Linen, gesso, acrylic, Japanese paper and gold leaf
153 x 90 x 3 cm
60 1/4 x 35 3/8 x 1 1/8 in
Installed 153 x 90 x 16 cm
Installed 60 1/4 x 35 3/8 x 6 1/4 in
© Olga de Amaral. Courtesy Lisson Gallery. Photography by Theo Christelis.

The Currier Museum of Art is delighted to present a selection of important works by Olga de Amaral (b. 1932, Bogotá) in its Welcome Gallery, as part of its ongoing series of exhibitions exploring the relationship between crafts and the visual arts.

While Amaral is globally recognized for her seminal contribution to fiber art, she is also considered one of the most important abstract artists in Latin America. She often works with natural materials such as jute, cotton, clay, Japanese paper and most notably, gold, the use of which was inspired by the Japanese practice of kintsugi – the art of reassembling broken pottery with gold.

Amaral studied architectural design at Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca, prior to attending Cranbrook Academy of Art in the United States, where she majored in weaving and textile design. As the founder of the Textile Department at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Amaral established her international reputation in the late 1960s. She was Colombia’s representative at the World Crafts Council between 1968 and 1972, and in 1973, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, which allowed her to work in New York City. Subsequently, she represented Colombia at the 42nd Venice Biennial in 1986, and has since participated in numerous exhibitions worldwide.

Her work is presently included in the 60th Venice Biennale, curated by Adriano Pedrosa and titled Stranieri Ovunque (Strangers Everywhere). In the fall of 2024, the Fondation Cartier in Paris will present her largest and most comprehensive European retrospective to date.

This exhibition is generously supported by M. Christine Dwyer and Michael Huxtable. Additional support was provided by the Lisson Gallery.

past exhibitions

Archived material on past exhibitions can be explored further here, and recent past exhibition catalogues are available through the museum shop.

artist in residence

Our Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program invites artists to live and work at the museum. While in residence, artists consider the collection and community, and refresh our perspectives on the role of the museum. The program is central to the Currier Museum’s mission of connecting our audiences with art and creative thinking, whether of the past or the future. We hope to learn from our visiting artists – and be surprised by their perspectives.

Artists working in all media participate in the AIR program, which has three main components: 1) an open call to support emerging artists making socially engaged art; 2) an invitational through which artists are selected to develop special projects, commissions, or exhibitions; and 3) artist-led, community-centered public art projects in the city of Nashua, NH.

 

Open Call for Artist in Residence Applications

Our annual open call is currently live from October 1 – December 1, 2022. Artists who share the museum’s goal of positively impacting communities through the transformative power of art are encouraged to apply to this residency.

Learn More