'Weaving Abstraction in Ancient and Modern Art' with Olga de Amaral at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, USA

14 March 2024

From 5 March – 16 June 2024, The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents ‘Weaving Abstraction in Ancient and Modern Art’. Two extraordinary bodies of work separated by at least 500 years are brought together to explore the striking connections between artists of the ancient Andes and those of the 20th century. Featuring more than 50 works, including major loans and new acquisitions, this cross-historical exhibition offers new insights into the emergence of abstract imagery.

The process of creating textiles has long been a springboard for artistic invention. The exhibition displays textiles by four distinguished modern practitioners — Anni Albers, Sheila Hicks, Lenore Tawney, and Olga de Amaral—alongside pieces by Andean artists from the first millennium BCE to the 16th century.

Among the modern artworks featured is Olga de Amaral’s 1985 Riscos en Sombra, woven in horsehair and wool. Meaning “markings in shadow,” the work explores the effects of color generated by the passage of light across a woven surface of these hand-dyed materials. Speaking in a lecture at The Met in 2003, Amaral stated: “As I build these surfaces, I create spaces of meditation, contemplation and reflection.”

'Weaving Abstraction in Ancient and Modern Art' is on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art from 5 March – 16 June 2024.

Find further information via The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, photo by Hyla Skopitz.