Weaving the Infinite
September 10, 2026–January 31, 2027
St. Louis MO 63108
United States
Hours: Thursday–Sunday 10am–5pm
The Pulitzer Arts Foundation announces the recent opening of a major retrospective dedicated to Colombian fiber artist Olga de Amaral (b. 1932), co-organized with Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Amaral is known internationally for her virtuosic textile works, which blur the boundaries between weaving, sculpture, and painting.
On view at the Pulitzer through January 31, 2027, and at Cooper Hewitt beginning in April 2027, Olga de Amaral: Weaving the Infinite is co-curated by Stephanie Weissberg, Senior Curator at the Pulitzer, and Christina L. De León, Associate Curator of Latino Design at Cooper Hewitt.
Featuring textiles and works on paper created over more than 60 years, Olga de Amaral: Weaving the Infinite is the most comprehensive examination to date of the artist’s foundational contributions to the fiber arts movement and design. The exhibition underscores the ways in which Amaral’s experiments with dimensionality and scale in weaving reflect her background in architectural drafting. It offers new insights into the relationship between her commercial and fine art practices through the first-ever presentations of materials from her Telas Amaral design studio. This exhibition also explores the scope and significance of her sustained engagement with global textile and craft traditions by presenting an array of artworks and objects from the artist’s own personal collection.
About the Artist
Olga de Amaral, née Olga Ceballos Vélez, was born in Bogotá, Colombia (b. June 14, 1932), where she continues to live. She studied architectural drafting at the Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca in Bogotá and textiles at Cranbrook Academy of Art, Michigan, in 1954. By the 1960s she was teaching at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine and was included in a group exhibition at MoMA, New York, titled Wall Hangings, before staging a solo show, Woven Walls, at New York’s Museum of Arts and Design in 1970. Her work was featured in several editions of the Lausanne International Tapestry Biennial beginning in 1967. After living in Barcelona and Paris in the early 1970s she returned to Colombia, receiving her first major survey show at the city’s Museo de Arte Moderno in 1972 and representing her country at the Venice Biennale in 1986.
Publication
The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully-illustrated catalogue available in spring 2027, published by Princeton University Press.
Organization
This exhibition is co-organized by the Pulitzer Arts Foundation and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; and curated by Stephanie Weissberg, Senior Curator, with Molly Moog, Curatorial Associate, Pulitzer Arts Foundation, and Christina L. De León, Acting Deputy Director of Curatorial and Associate Curator of Latino Design, Cooper Hewitt with Sophia Gebara, Curatorial Assistant of Latino Design.
About the Pulitzer Arts Foundation
Located in St. Louis, the Pulitzer Arts Foundation is dedicated to bringing world-class art and exhibitions to the region. Exhibitions include both contemporary and historic art and are complemented by a wide range of free public programs, including music, literary arts, dance, and cultural discussions. Open and free to all, the Pulitzer is a cultural and civic asset to the St. Louis community and a popular destination for visitors from around the world. The museum is open Thursday through Sunday, 10am–5pm, and until 9pm on First Fridays. For more information, visit pulitzerarts.org.
About Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Cooper Hewitt is America’s design museum. Inclusive, innovative and experimental, the museum’s dynamic exhibitions, education programs, master’s program, publications and online resources inspire, educate and empower people through design. An integral part of the Smithsonian Institution—the world’s largest museum, education and research complex—Cooper Hewitt is located on New York City’s Museum Mile in the landmarked Carnegie Mansion. Steward of one of the world’s most diverse and comprehensive design collections—over 215,000 objects that range from an ancient Egyptian faience cup dating to about 1100 BC to contemporary 3D-printed objects and digital code—Cooper Hewitt welcomes everyone to discover the importance of design and its power to change the world. For more information, visit www.cooperhewitt.org.
