El Anatsui b. 1944

EL ANATSUI

 

“The amazing thing about working with these metallic ‘fabrics’ is that the poverty of the materials used in no way precludes the telling of rich and wonderful stories”

 

El Anatsui is an internationally acclaimed artist who transforms simple materials into complex large assemblages that create distinctive visual impact.

 

Throughout a distinguished forty-year career as both sculptor and teacher, El Anatsui was Professor of Sculpture and Departmental Head at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He has addressed a vast range of social, political and historical concerns, and embraced an equally diverse range of media and processes. His sculptures have been collected by major international museums, from the British Museum, London to the Centre Pompidou, Paris; the de Young Museum, San Francisco; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Guggenheim, Abu Dhabi; Osaka Foundation of Culture, Osaka; Museum of Modern Art, New York and many other prestigious institutions besides.