The word confection brings to mind something sweet and designed to please, but not to weigh things down with anything too serious.

So I was a little surprised at "Con Confection," an exhibition at the Museo de las Americas. These works grew out of the textile tradition and the human urge to embellish and decorate, while adding contemporary accents along the way.

Is this a summertime treat? Yes, if you consider the sophisticated use of materials by the three main artists in the exhibition. But the pieces in this show also demonstrate a basic beauty, the strength of experimentation and an occasional flash of humor.

Museum director Patty Ortiz opens "Con Confection" with a section devoted to the long history and expertise in working with fiber among Hispanic and indigenous peoples in South and Central America.

From Ñanduti lace made in Paraguay - to light-as-air work based on a wheel-and-spoke technique - to Mayan huipil from Guatemala, hand-woven blouses that sport inventive embroidery and lace and velvet trim, this section addresses the utilitarian and decorative nature of handwork. These objects have a purpose as well as a public face.

The show also focuses on individual works by two traditional artists: a colcha by Josephine Lobato that is a combination embroidered map and personal souvenir of the San Luis Valley, and an example of Rita Flora de Wallace's embroidery.

Then, platform established, "Con Confection" shifts into the new. And if it is not all about textiles, some of the pieces borrow the sense of patterning we associate with work in fiber.

The first impression is the variety of styles, especially in work by Ana Maria Hernando. In the past, this Boulder-based artist (born in Argentina) has shown wood and paper pieces marked by cutout areas and bright, often floral motifs.

Here, Hernando's work ranges from pure beauty to conceptual. In the first instance, count a platform filled with clear plastic plates that encase an embroidered two-dimensional fabric tulip (Pongco); the lighting causes the plates, which fan out like rings of petals, to sparkle. In the second is a wall-mounted installation of a spiral of shoes, moving larger to smaller, that she gave residents of a Peruvian village to wear, and then bought back (Chakitacila). In between are three large-scale paper-based grids with elaborate designs that show a vivid relationship to her earlier work.

Chilean-born Carlos Arias Vicuña, who lives in Mexico, uses embroidery like paint, creating figural shapes against solid and patterned fabric hangings. Though fascinating when approached head-on, the images become even stronger when seen from the side - they have that kind of holographic effect.

Finally, Brazilian-born and based artist Lia Menna Barreto pursues two paths. Her two curtain-like hangings seem more like fussy room dividers than pieces to study.

But her Desenho de Lagartixa (Gecko Design) is the most eye-catching piece in the show. From a distance, it looks like a boldly patterned piece of fabric; up close, it is a meandering series of clusters of tiny plastic geckos, covering the entire back wall.

It is the unexpected solution to what comes off as a mystery. And if it's not exactly the first definition of confection, there is enough surprise there to delight.

Con Confection

• What: Textile-based work by Lia Menna Barreto, Ana Maria Hernando and Carlos Arias Vicuña, with Josephine Lobato and Rita Flores de Wallace

• Where and when: Museo de las Americas, 861 Santa Fe Drive; through Sept. 9

• Information: 303-571-4401; museo.org

Mary Voelz Chandler is the art and architecture critic. Chandlerm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2677