El Anatsui

Artist, Person

1944 –

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Who is El Anatsui?

El Anatsui is a Ghanaian sculptor active for much of his career in Nigeria.

Anatsui was born in Anyako, 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.

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. Anatsui also incorporates uli and nsibidi into his works alongside Ghanaian motifs.

El Anatsui has exhibited his work around the world, including at the Clark Art Institute, Rice University Art Gallery, Houston, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C.; Venice Biennale; Hayward Gallery; Liverpool Biennial; the National Museum of African Art; the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona; the 8th Osaka Sculpture Triennale; the 5th Gwangju Biennale; and the Venice Biennale.

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Born
1944
Ghana
Profession
Education
  • Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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