The Woven Worlds of Olga de Amaral
How does the soft side of architecture feel like?
Brumas Collection (2013-2018) by Olga de Amaral at Fondation Cartier _ @Zoe Lina Wehmeyer
Text(ile) Stories
Weaving and telling have been intertwined for centuries. In fact, the words “text” and “textile” even share the same origin: the Latin texere. Fabric structures always carried the ability to convey stories. Just as the Incas used their complex quipus - colorful cords full of knots - to record information, Colombian artist Olga de Amaral weaves her own experiences into her art. Her threads, which she twists into knots, tell of her journey through life, love, loss and the search for artistic expression since the 1960s. Each weave is part of her own story – interwoven with the world around her.
Fiber Flow
Afar, Amaral's creations seem to float like semi-transparent, colorful, geometric clouds behind the glass of the Fondation Cartier in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. Once you have passed the green wall entrance, you are magically drawn closer to them. The impulse to touch them, to glide your fingers through the wafer-thin threads, sweeps your body. Like delicate raindrops, they fall from the ceiling of the Jean Nouvel building while their colors and perspectives change with every step.
Everybody orbits these three-dimensional triangles, gazing between the thousands of painted threads. The 21 “Brumas” appear so dainty, almost translucent, yet they radiate in strong, complementary hues: turquoise and flashy orange, dusky red and pale blue, lush green and signal red. In the midst of this play of colors stand the four white “Brumas”, whose whispering brings silence and a sense of serenity to the room.
The pieces consist of thousands of cotton threads coated with gesso and covered with acrylic paint. They are not woven together, but float as though they metaphorically embody water and air, the visible and the invisible. Drizzle, captured in geometric, colorful forms.
“I discovered the color, texture, structure of the world of fabric. In a context so rich in possibilities, I learned how to approach that world in a contemporary fashion.”
– Olga de Amaral
Gran Muro (1976) & Muro en rojos (1982) & Paisaje de calicanto y rocas (1981) by Olga de Amaral at Fondation Cartier_@Zoe Lina Wehmeyer
Solid and soft
Luminous Layers
The soft side of architecture
Olga de Amaral's art moves between worlds: Stone and textile, hard and soft, outside and inside. Her works, which are partially shown in this retrospective, evoke an emotional ambivalence due to the contrasting elements portrayed. Metre-long textile walls consist of tiny textile fragments reminiscent of fabric samples that have been carefully stitched together to form a giant composition. The gradient colors are both subtle and full of emotion.
In “Muro en Rojos”, various earthy nuances seem like a vertical pile of autumn leaves that one simply wants to plunge into. The woven pieces are made of horsehair, a thick and relatively stiff natural material that enabled Amaral to realize her works on a large scale by 1970. These monochrome, rectangular strips are evocative of the brick walls of Colombia, the artist's home base. Layers of the earth's history unfold like geographical maps that tell stories to the viewer.
The window to the outdoor space, the purist, natural garden of the Fondation, connects the interior and exterior space through Amaral's work. Architecture and nature intertwine metaphorically with each other along the threads. In an attempt to make this relationship tangible, some discover the backs of the artworks, which allow an insight into the creative process – the hidden, invisible hand work on super simple cotton canvas.
Delving deeper into the exhibition, a shimmering world of gold and silver is revealed, infused with fuchsia and aquamarine. The stiff cotton, thick layers of gesso, acrylic paint and gold leaf merge into a visual language that is both concrete and poetic. For Amaral, the use of gold is more than just a superficial effect. It is an allusion to the altars of the Catholic churches in her motherland and to the Pre-Columbian art of goldsmithing, surrounding her works with a mystical aura. Amaral's art captures the light and reflects it back, as if creating a sphere of its own - a sacred space and an invitation to dream.
The thought arises that textile art is already rarely seen and shown, while artistic textile architecture is an even rarer encounter. But in Amaral's world, textiles become walls, columns and portals - they define spaces and draw lines. These textiles are more than decoration - they are architecture in its purest form.
Núcleo 1 (2015) by Olga de Amaral at Fondation Cartier_@Zoe Lina Wehmeyer
After the poetic journey across Olga de Amaral's work, the answer to what soft architecture feels like has emerged: tactile, inviting, and deeply human. It evokes a sense of warmth and comfort through materials that engage the senses. Soft architecture isn't just about form but about how spaces feel when we inhabit them. Textiles, natural fibers, and organic forms soften the stiffness often associated with traditional buildings. These elements bring a sense of flexibility and fluidity, transforming cold, hard surfaces into something that feels alive and responsive.
The soft side of architecture also connects us to nature and emotion. Soft materials can sway, glimmer, and breathe, mimicking natural elements like wind, water, and foliage. Spaces designed with these soft qualities invite reflection, relaxation, and interaction, making the experience of architecture less about monumental structure and more about intimacy and connection.
While Amaral's works blur the soft boundaries between fabric and structure, traditional architecture often remains static in its materiality: stone, brick, facade. Nevertheless, her designs invite us to rethink the use of textiles - as carriers of stories, as creators of space, as architectural elements. Applying textile thinking to architecture has the potential to change the rules of conventional construction.
Brumas Collection (2013-2018) by Olga de Amaral at Fondation Cartier _ @Zoe Lina Wehmeyer
The Olga de Amaral exhibition will remain until March 16, 2025 at the Fondation Cartier in Paris.
Zoe Lina Wehmeyer is an architecture graduate from TUM Munich, currently pursuing a master's in Paris with a focus on sustainability in design.