Where to See El Anatsui

El Anatsui's artwork has been exhibited globally in various museums and galleries. His pieces have appeared in both African art and contemporary art spaces. Retrospectives, such as *When I Last Wrote to You About Africa* and *A Fateful Journey*, opened in ethnography museums in Toronto and Osaka before touring to art and natural history museums. One can find his work in major institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. In 2019, his work was part of the Ghana Freedom pavilion at the Venice Biennale. A major retrospective, *Triumphant Scale*, was held at the Haus der Kunst in Munich in 2019, later travelling to the Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, the Kunstmuseum Bern, and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Anatsui's pieces often blur the lines between sculpture and textile, utilising recycled materials to create large-scale, flexible works that can be displayed in diverse ways. These installations respond to their environments, making each viewing a unique experience.

El Anatsui, born in Ghana in 1944, is best known for his large-scale "metal cloths". These hangings blur the lines between sculpture and textile art. He did not achieve international recognition until he was in his 60s, quite late in his career. Anatsui's wall-based sculptures are constructed from discarded bottle caps, aluminium cans, and other found metal objects. These materials are crushed, pierced, and then stitched together using copper wire. A large team of assistants in Nigeria helps him to prepare the materials. The finished works can be manipulated; they can be rolled, folded, and draped in different ways for each installation. The colours in his work often recall Asante kente cloth. Anatsui is interested in using objects that have been handled and used. He says he is drawn to bottle tops because people have drunk from the bottles and left "a charge on them". His choice of materials evokes narratives about local African cultures. Some see his work as connecting Africa, Europe, and the Americas through the history of trade.

El Anatsui, born in Ghana and working in Nigeria, creates large-scale sculptural works from discarded materials. He is best known for pieces constructed from flattened liquor bottles, assembled with copper wire. Anatsui's practice calls attention to consumption and waste. His choice of materials references the impact of consumer culture on the environment. The bottle caps he uses once contained alcoholic beverages, often introduced during the colonial era; thus, his work explores the history of trade between Africa and Europe. These shimmering surfaces evoke textiles, yet they are made from hard, manufactured detritus. His work gained international recognition in the early 2000s. Major exhibitions include solo shows at the Venice Biennale (2007), the National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C. (2008), and the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto (2010). His art is held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Centre Pompidou, Paris; and many other institutions. Anatsui received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale in 2015. His innovative approach to sculpture, combined with his exploration of cultural and environmental themes, makes his art significant in contemporary discussions about globalisation and sustainability.

El Anatsui is known for large-scale sculptures created from discarded materials. He often employs bottle tops and aluminium cans, pierced and linked together with copper wire. These metal components are manipulated to create flexible, textile-like structures. Anatsui's studio in Nigeria employs around 30 assistants. They flatten and sort the metal pieces, punch holes, and connect them into larger sections. Anatsui then directs the assembly of these sections into shimmering, textured artworks. Before his large-scale metal works, Anatsui created sculptures from wooden plates used by merchants, and also from worn mortars. His early ceramic work incorporated shards, referencing broken pots reused as tools. He also experimented with terracotta fragments and used a chainsaw. Anatsui has stated that he is drawn to materials that have been handled by many people. He sees a connection between these objects and the history of trade between Africa, Europe, and the Americas, particularly the exchange of alcohol for goods and raw materials during the colonial era.

El Anatsui's influence is visible in the work of numerous contemporary artists who work with unconventional materials and explore themes of globalisation, consumption, and transformation. His impact extends to artists interested in bridging the gap between sculpture, textiles, and installation art. While it is difficult to name every artist directly affected by Anatsui's practice, his methods have resonated with those who question traditional art-making processes. His use of discarded materials, such as bottle caps and aluminium printing plates, has encouraged other artists to reconsider waste as a medium for artistic expression. Anatsui's large-scale, flexible sculptures have also influenced artists working with installation art, prompting them to think about space, form, and the viewer's interaction with the artwork in new ways. The global reach of his exhibitions and the critical acclaim he has received have further amplified his impact, making him an important figure for artists interested in addressing social and environmental issues through their art. His work has become a point of reference for discussions about contemporary African art and its place in the international art world.

El Anatsui's influences are diverse, arising from his environment and artistic journey. His early sculptures incorporated wooden plates used by traders and worn mortars. He also experimented with terracotta fragments. A period in the United States led to his interest in chainsaws, which he saw as representing the impact of colonisation on African society. Anatsui's work uses everyday materials that have passed through many hands. He once said that an artist must work with what their surroundings provide. A bag of discarded whisky, gin, and brandy bottle tops became a key material. He saw these as connected to the trade between America, Europe, and Africa during the colonial era. His attraction to materials lies in their prior use, imbuing them with a human element. He aims to create connections between objects and cultures.

El Anatsui is best known for his large-scale 'metal cloths', a unique art form that blurs the lines between sculpture and textile design. These monumental, wall-based works are constructed from thousands of discarded aluminium bottle caps and other metal fragments, sourced from Nigeria, where Anatsui has spent much of his career. These pieces are pierced, flattened, and linked together using copper wire; the scale of these works often requires a team of assistants to assemble. Anatsui's interest in textiles is longstanding. Early in his career, he incorporated the iconography of adinkra cloth into his work. For a time, he used chainsaws to sculpt wood, echoing the narrow strips of cloth woven on West African looms. The metal cloths evoke associations with Ghanaian kente cloth, connecting his work to his cultural heritage. His use of everyday materials, things that have 'passed through many hands', reflects his interest in imbuing his art with the spirit of those who have used them.

It is difficult to assign El Anatsui to a single style or movement. His work resists easy categorisation, existing somewhere between sculpture and textile design. Some have described his output as Postminimal form or Pop recycling. Born in Ghana in 1944, Anatsui was educated in a Modernist tradition. He later moved to Nigeria. He initially worked with wood and clay, referencing Ghanaian and Nigerian themes. Anatsui is best known for large-scale assemblages of flattened metal caps from liquor bottles. These are connected with copper wire, creating works that resemble textiles. The materials reference trade between Africa, Europe, and America. His pieces evoke art historical analogies, while combining mass-produced media into forms that are both abstract and refer to African textiles. Some consider comparisons of Anatsui's work to Western art as "intellectual laziness". Anatsui's art combines contemporary, global, and African influences, which both require and transcend art historical classifications.