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 Description
- linen and gesso
- Classifications
- Object Number
- 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 the radiant effect, she layered gold leaf and gesso onto woven linen. Amaral began to incorporate gold into her weavings in the 1980s after she learned about kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold lacquer. The applied gold glorifies imperfection. Amaral observed that “gold has such a way of reflecting light, it’s magical, mysterious even, though I don’t like to use those words to describe it.” To the artist’s point, the alchemy of gold and fiber in Montaña #13 summons a feeling of living in the moment, even amid disruption, that cannot be captured with language.
This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022