El Anatsui

(Ghanaian, born 1944)

El Anatsui is a contemporary Ghanian sculptor. Internationally celebrated for his transformation of simple materials into elaborate, mutable sculptures, Anatsui uses wood, discarded metal, and clay linked together to form uniquely scintillating wall tapestries. His work tackles weighty subjects such as consumption and colonialism, while also visually referencing the history of European and African abstraction through an interpreted sense of Minimalism. Refraining from dictating how his work should be installed, the artist has explained that “art is a reflection on life. Life isn’t something we can cut and fix. It’s always in a state of flux.” Born in the Volta region of Ghana in 1944, Anatsui studied at the College of Art in the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. He began teaching at the University of Nigeria in 1975, and went on to hold the position of head of sculpture at UNN. His works are in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the British Museum in London, and many others. In 2015, the Venice Biennale awarded Anatsui the Golden Lion award for Lifetime Achievement. He currently lives and works in Nigeria.