Olga de AMARAL The Light of Spirit 30.03.18 > 16.06.18

Opening thursday march 29th from 17h to 20h The Light of Spirit

The Patinoire Royale–Galerie Valérie Bach becomes, for one exhibition, the temple of the Amerindian spirit and its powerful spiritual charge, in direct link with the cosmos, through the timeless work of the Colombian artist Olga de Amaral. This unclassifiable artist and her production, whose eternal force is haloed with -a glorious and divine stainless material- characterizes her mode of expression. A selection of some forty exceptional works, which cover the last 15 years, are presented here for the first retrospective in . Her luminous work re-explores the textile tradition of by directly quoting the colors, shapes, graphics and materials of the pre-Columbian world, using gold or silver leaf, as well as the natural pigments of the world: indigo, amaranth, turquoise, and earth-colors, in a vast firework display against a backdrop of Andean music. Her great sensitivity, in the service of a meticulous textile practice and an innate taste for interlacing, mosaics and mats, makes Olga de Amaral a passer-by between the ancestral spirituality of the Incas and our contemporary society. De- livering much like many artifacts, a poignant testimony of this immense civilization which disappeared in the first half of the 16th century. The work of Olga de Amaral, characterized by a high degree of homogeneity and a fidelity to herself, for more than sixty years, would be without a doubt betrayed if one saw there only a simple visual manifestation, flattering our eyes , without any finality other than being very decorative, conferred to him by its colors and metallic sparkles. The work of weaving, cutting and combing textile fibers, sometimes freed from linen straps or organized by falling wire curtains, sometimes immersed in gesso, or by the practice of gluing Japanese paper stiffened by rope, are as much surprising techniques directly inspired by the ethnographic know-how of Amerindian civilizations, and thus constitute the struc- turing axis of a timeless production, of which we do not always know whether it is contemporary works or archaeo- logical remains. A great power characterizes these colors and these metal tones, ranging from bronze to silver, from gold to mother-of- pearl, focusing our imagination around a form made of a rain of colors and reflections, borrowing this force from that of Russian icons or Buddhist Stupa. There is therefore a very spiritual, almost sacred perspective, invested by the artist in these murals, condensing in the subtlety of the result a creative process similar to prayer or meditation. Each of Olga de Amaral’s works appears, in its uniqueness and originality, as the narrative of an inner journey, recounting the joys and sorrows, the difficulties and the dazzling, the worries and the certainties of this artist who, as a result of her fame and international renown, continues to practice her art as a tireless and humble seeker.

To contemplate a work of Olga de Amaral is to be dazzled by the light of a spirit.

Exhibition “Light of Spirit – Olga de Amaral – a retrospective” at la Patinoire Royale-Galerie Valérie Bach from Brussels, from 29 march to 16 june 2018 .

Biography - Exhibitions

Exhibitions (selection) Permanent collections (selection) De linea al espacio Jim Amaral, Olga de Amaral y Ricardo Cardenas, MAMBO, Colombie (2017) The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, USA Gold, curated by Jose Carlos Diaz, Bass Museum, Miami (2015) Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, USA Fiber: 1960–present, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, travelling to Wexner Center for the Arts, American Museum, New York, New York Columbus, Ohio et Des Moines Art Center, Iowa (2015) De Young Museum, San Francisco, USA Now, when, then, Musée des Beaux-arts de Nantes, Nantes (2014) Kunstendustrimuseum, Throdheim, Norvège Olga de Amaral: Selected Works, Louise Blouin Foundation, Londres (2013) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA Golden Fleece, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv, Israël (2008) Museo de Arte Moderno, Bogotá, Colombie One of a Kind, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2008) , New York, USA Museo de Arte Moderno, Barranquilla, Colombie (2002) Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de , Paris, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington D.C. (1995) Musée Bellerive, Zurich, Suisse Center for the Fine Arts, Miami, Floride (1995) Musée Jean Lurçat et de la Tapisserie Contemporaine, Angers, France Museo Nacional (Cancillería), Bogotá, Colombie Museum Bellerive, Zürich, Suisse The Renwick Gallery of the National Gallery, Washington D.C., USA San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, USA Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio, USA Ararat Gallery, Australie Arthur Young Company, Houston, USA Colgel the Clinton Exchange, Syracuse, USA Dreyfus Corporation, New York, USA Rewards (selection) Federación Nacional de Cafeteros, Bogotá, Colombie Honoree of the Multicultural Benefit Gala, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2011) First National City Bank, Miami, USA Member of the Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentine (2010) Flagship Bank, Miami, USA Olga de Amaral Prize awarded at 5th International Biennial of Textile Art, organized by the World textile Art Florida National Bank, Jacksonville, USA Organization (WTA), Buenos Aires, Argentine (2009) Forth Worth National Bank, Houston, USA Honorary Co-Chair for the benefit of the Multicultural Audience Development Initiative, Metropolitan Museum Four Seasons Hotel, Hong Kong, Japon of Art, New York, NY (2008) GBC International, Londres, Grande Bretagne Olga de Amaral Prize awarded at the 4th International Biennial of Textile Art, San Jose, Costa Rica (2006) Interamerican Development Bank, Washington D.C., USA Visionary Artist recognition by the Museum of Art & Design, New York, New York (2005) International Trade Mart, Bruxelles, Belgique Chair, UCLA, Los Angeles, Californie (1989) Palacio Presidencial Antonio Nariño, Bogotá, Colombie Guggenheim Fellowship, New York (1973) Phillip Morris Collection, New York, USA First Prize in the Tercera Bienal de Artes de Coltejer, Medellin, Colombie (1972) Regent Hotel, Hong Kong First Prize in the XXII Salón Nacional de Artistas, Bogotá (1971) The Landmark Group, , USA UCSD Medical Center, La Jolla, USA

Practical information

La Patinoire Royale-Galerie Valérie Bach Rue Veydt, 15 1060 Bruxelles Belgique www.prvbgallery.com

Opening : Thursday march 29th 2018 from 17h00 to 20h00 Exhibition from : from March 30th to June 16th 2018 Visual and documentation available on request : [email protected]

Information T. +32 (0)2 533 03 90 [email protected]

Opening hours Open from tuesday to saturday from 11h to 18h Closed from sunday and monday Free entrance

Access Metro : Louise (ligne 2 et 6) Tram : Arrêt Faider (92 et 97) / Arrêt Defacqz (93 et 94) Train : Brussels Central Paris > Brussels : 1h30 > Brussels : 2h00

Parking Accessible parking : Parking Q-Park, rue de Livourne, 11 - 1000 Bruxelles

Reduced mobility Spaces of exposure are accessible to the handicapped visitors engine or the people with reduced mobility.