Cal y Canto

Media - 1991.109 - SAAM-1991.109_1 - 72553
Copied Olga De Amaral, Cal y Canto, ca. 1979, linen and gesso, 56 x 32 x 5 in. (142.3 x 81.3 x 12.8 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift from the collection of Dr. and Mrs. Isidore M. Samuels, 1991.109

Artwork Details

Title
Cal y Canto
Artist
Date
ca. 1979
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
56 x 32 x 5 in. (142.3 x 81.3 x 12.8 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift from the collection of Dr. and Mrs. Isidore M. Samuels
Mediums
Mediums Description
linen and gesso
Classifications
Object Number
1991.109
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1991.109

Artwork Description

Montaña #13 evokes the mountainous terrain of Colombia,where textile artist Olga de Amaral grew up and lives today. To achieve theradiant effect, she layered gold leaf and gesso onto woven linen. Amaral beganto incorporate gold into her weavings in the 1980s after she learned about kintsugi,the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold lacquer. The appliedgold glorifies imperfection. Amaral observed that “gold has such a way ofreflecting light, it’s magical, mysterious even, though I don’t like to usethose words to describe it.” To the artist’s point, the alchemy of gold andfiber in Montaña #13 summons a feeling of living in the moment, evenamid disruption, that cannot be captured with language.

 

This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022

Exhibitions

Media - 2019.15 - SAAM-2019.15_1 - 137377
Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women
May 31, 2024–January 5, 2025
Renwick Gallery
The artists in Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women mastered and subverted the everyday materials of cotton, felt, and wool to create deeply personal artworks.