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El Anatsui

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Man's Cloth by El Anatsui (1998 – 2001), on display at the British Museum.

El Anatsui (born 1944) is a Ghanaian sculptor active for much of his career in Nigeria. He has drawn particular international attention for his iconic "bottle-top installations",[1] distinctive large-scale assemblages of thousands of pieces of aluminium sourced from alcohol recycling stations and sewn together with copper wire, transformed into metallic cloth-like wall sculptures in a way that can "draw connections between consumption, waste, and the environment".[2]

Early life and education

Anatsui was born in Anyako, in the Volta Region of Ghana, and trained at the College of Art, University of Science and Technology, in Kumasi, in central Ghana. He began teaching at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1975, and has become affiliated with the Nsukka group.[3]

Artistic practice

Anatsui has used a variety of mediums for his works and has expressed that he like to focus on a medium for a long span of time such as years rather than a couple weeks. He believes in exploring the medium thoroughly before shifting his attention to another one.[4] Anatsui's preferred media are clay and wood, which he uses to create objects based on traditional Ghanaian beliefs and other subjects. He has cut wood with chainsaws and blackened it with acetylene torches; more recently, he has turned to installation art. Some of his works resemble woven cloths such as kente cloth but were not intended as textiles, but as sculptures.[5] Anatsui incorporates "Adinsubli" for his works, an acronym made up of uli, nsibidi, and Adinkra symbols,[6] alongside Ghanaian motifs.[3]

Exhibitions

El Anatsui has exhibited his work around the world, including at the Brooklyn Museum (2013),[7] the Clark Art Institute (2011),[8] Rice University Art Gallery, Houston (2010),[9] Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2008–09);[10] National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C. (2008);[11] Fowler Museum at UCLA (2007);[12] Venice Biennale (2007);[13] Hayward Gallery (2005);[14] Liverpool Biennial (2002);[13] the National Museum of African Art (2001);[13] the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (2001);[13] the 8th Osaka Sculpture Triennale (1995);[13] the 5th Gwangju Biennale (2004); and the Venice Biennale (1990).[13]

A retrospective of his work, entitled When I Last Wrote to You About Africa was organized by the Museum for African Art and opened at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada, in October 2010. It toured venues in the United States for three years, concluding at the University of Michigan Art Museum.

A major exhibition of recent works, entitled "Gravity & Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui," had its New York premier at the Brooklyn Museum in February 2013. Organized by the Akron Art Museum (exhibition: 2012), the exhibition later traveled to the Des Moines Art Center (2013–14) and the Bass Museum of Art in Miami (2014).[15]

In April 2015 the Venice Biennale announced that it has awarded El Anatsui the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, a prize that "acknowledges not just his recent successes internationally, but also his artistic influence amongst two generations of artists working in West Africa."[16]

On on May 26, 2016, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Harvard University.[citation needed]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ El Anatsui page at October Gallery, London.
  2. ^ "El Anatsui", Jack Shainman Galleery.
  3. ^ a b "El Anatsui" biography at the National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C.". Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  4. ^ Sollins, Marybeth. art:21 vol.6. Art21, Inc. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-615-54566-0.
  5. ^ Sollins, Marybeth. art:21 vol.6. Art21, Inc. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-615-54566-0.
  6. ^ Sollins, Marybeth. art:21 vol.6. Art21, Inc. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-615-54566-0.
  7. ^ "Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui". Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  8. ^ El Anatsui exhibition (2011). Clark Art Institute website, Williamstown, Massachusetts. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  9. ^ "El Anatsui: Gli (Wall)". (2010). Rice University Art Gallery, Houston, Texas. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  10. ^ Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. (2008). "Rich Legacy of African Textiles on View in Metropolitan Museum Exhibition". Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  11. ^ "El Anatsui at NMAA", Artnet, 17 January 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  12. ^ "El Anatsui: Gawu". Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA. (2007). Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Preece, R. J. (2006). "El Anatsui interview: Out of West Africa". Sculpture/artdesigncafe. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  14. ^ "AFRICA REMIX: Contemporary Art of a Continent". Hayward Gallery, London. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  15. ^ "Gravity & Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui". Exhibition information. Akron Art Museum. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  16. ^ Russeth, Andrew (23 April 2015). "2015 Venice Biennale News. Venice Biennale Awards Golden Lions to El Anatsui, Susanne Ghez, Names Jury". author. Retrieved 23 April 2015.

Bibliography

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