biography / bibliography
Tapping Currents: Contemporary African Art and Diaspora, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri
Black Panther Rank and File, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
DAK’ART 2006, 7th edition of the Biennale of African Art, Senegal
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EL ANATSUI
Born in 1944, Ghana
Lives and works in Nigeria
EDUCATION
1969
Postgraduate Diploma, Art Education, University of Science and Technology, Kumasi,
Ghana
1965–1969
BA (Art) College of Art, University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2012
Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, September 2012. (forthcoming)
2010–2012
El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote To You About Africa, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada, October 2, 2010–February 28, 2011. Will travel to: Davis Museum, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts, March 30–June 26, 2011; Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, Austin, September 25, 2011–January 22, 2012; North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, March 18–July 29, 2012; Denver Art Museum, Colorado, September 2–December 30, 2012; University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, February 2–April 28, 2013; Museum for African Art, New York, June–November 2013. Curated by Lisa M. Binder. (Catalogue)
2011
El Anatsui, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, June 12–October 16, 2011. (Catalogue; text by Alisa LaGamma)
2010–2011
A Fateful Journey: Africa in the Works of El Anatsui, National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, September 16–December 7, 2010. Traveled to: The Museum of Modern Art, Hayama, February 5–March 27, 2011; Tsuruoka Art Forum, April 23–May 22, 2011; The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, July 2–August 28, 2011. (Catalogue)
2010
El Anatsui: Gli, Rice University Art Gallery, Houston, Texas, January 28–March 14, 2010.
El Anatsui, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, New York, February 10–March 13, 2010. (Catalogue; text by Elizabeth Harney and Odili Donald Odita)
2009
El Anatsui, Belger Arts Center, Kansas City, Missouri, May 29–September 2, 2009.
El Anatsui: Process and Project (organized by the Museum of African Art, New York), Rotunda Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, March 25–May 2, 2009.
2008
El Anatsui: Earth Growing Roots, San Diego State University Art Gallery, San Diego, April 7–May 7, 2008.
El Anatsui: Zebra Crossing, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, New York, January 4–February 2, 2008.
2003–2008
El Anatsui: Gawu, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno, Wales, United Kingdom, November 22, 2003–January 7, 2004. Traveled to: Model Arts & Niland Gallery, Sligo, Republic of Ireland, August 13–September 19, 2004; Gallery Oldham, Oldham, England, United Kingdom, October 16–December 4, 2004; October Gallery, London, February 10–March 19, 2005; Djanogly Art Gallery, University of Nottingham, England, United Kingdom, April 16–June 7, 2005; Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, Florida, August 16–October 16, 2005; Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 6–March 4, 2007; Fowler Museum, University of California, Los Angeles, April 22–August 26, 2007; University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, November 1, 2007–January 20, 2008; Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C., May 16–September 2, 2008. (Catalogue; texts by Martin Barlow, Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, and Gerard Houghton.)
2006
El Anatsui: Asi, David Krut Projects, New York (in collaboration with October Gallery, London), November 1–December 22, 2006. (Catalogue; text by Chili Hawes)
El Anatsui: Nyekor, Spazio Rossana Orlandi, Milan, Italy, February 16–March 4, 2006.
El Anatsui, Skoto Gallery, New York.
2005–2006
Danudo: Recent Sculptures of El Anatsui, Skoto Gallery in collaboration with Contemporary African Art Gallery, New York, October 27, 2005–January 21, 2006.
2002
El Anatsui: Recent Works, October Gallery, London, United Kingdom, October 9–November 9, 2002.
1998
El Anatsui: A Sculpted History of Africa, October Gallery, London, United Kingdom, May 13–June 20, 1998. (Catalogue; texts by John Picton with Gerard Houghton, Yukiya Kawaguchi, Elisabeth Lalouschek, Simon Njami, Elisabeth Péri-Willis)
1997
Hakpa, French Cultural Centre, Lagos, Nigeria
1995
El Anatsui, October Gallery, London, September 14–October 21, 1995.
1993
So Far: Drawings, Paintings, Prints 1963–1993, Italian Cultural Institute, Lagos, May 8–22, 1993.
1991
Old and New: An Exhibition of Sculpture in Assorted Wood by El Anatsui, The National Museum, Lagos, Nigeria, March 23–April 6, 1991.
1987
Venovize: Ceramic Sculpture by El Anatsui, Faculty of Art and Design Gallery, Cornwall College of Further & Higher Education, Redruth, United Kingdom, February 6–27, 1987.
Pieces of Wood: An Exhibition of Mural Sculpture, The Franco-German Auditorium, Lagos, Nigeria, February 1987.
1982
Sculptures, Photographs, Drawings, Goethe Institute, Lagos, Nigeria, February 20–March 5, 1982.
1980
Wood Carvings, Cummington Community of Arts, Cummington, Massachusetts
1979
Broken Pots: Sculpture by El Anatsui, British Council, Enugu, Nigeria, November 5–10, 1979. Traveled to: Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, November 21–30, 1979.
1976
Wooden Wall Plaques, Asele Art Gallery, Nsukka, Nigeria, February 2–9, 1976.
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2012
18th Biennale of Sydney, June 27–September 16, 2012.
Paris Triennial 2012, Palais de Tokyo, Spring 2012. Curated by Okwui Enwezor, Claire Staebler, Emilie Renard, Melanie Bouteloup and Abdellah Karroum.
2011–2012
Environment and Object in Recent African Art,Skidmore College Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, Saratoga Springs, New York, February 6–July 31, 2011. Traveling to: Anderson Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, September 9–December 11, 2011; Middlebury College Museum of Art, Middlebury, Vermont, January 27–April 22, 2012.
Architectural Environments for Tomorrow: New Spatial Practices in Architecture and Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan, October 29, 2010–January 15, 2012.
2011
The World Belongs to You, Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy, June 2 – December 31, 2011. Curated by Caroline Bourgeois (Catalogue)
Hunters and Gatherers: The Art of Assemblage, S2 Ga;;eru. Sotheby’s, New York, November 17–December 16, 2011.
ARS 11, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland, April 15–November 27, 2011. (Catalogue)
2006–2011
The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Los Angeles, June–September 2006. Traveled to: Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago, October 2006–January 2007; The School of Visual Arts, New York, July–August 2007; Rubin Museum of Art, New York, March–September 2007; Emory Visual Arts Gallery, Atlanta, September 29–October 27, 2007; Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, December 1, 2007–March 16, 2008; Tomorrowland, Tokyo, Japan, October 17–November 9, 2008; Fundación Canal, Madrid, January 30–April 12, 2009; The Frost Museum, Florida International University, Miami, October 9, 2009–January 10, 2010; Brukenthal National Museum, Sibiu, Romania, May 18–July 18, 2010; Nobel Museum, Stockholm, October 9, 2010–January 2, 2011; The San Antonio Museum of Art, Texas, March 12–July 31, 2011. Curated by Randy Jayne Rosenberg.
2010
Who Knows Tomorrow, Nationalgalerie, Berlin
Human Rites, Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, Florida
2009
Transvangarde, October Gallery, London
Moscow Biennale
Extreme Frontiers, Urban Frontiers, Institut Valencia D’Art Modern, Valencia, Spain
2008
The Poetics of Cloth: African Textiles, Grey Art Gallery, New York
The Essential Art of African Textiles: Design Without End, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary, Museum for Arts and Design, New York
World Histories, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa
Angaza Afrika, October Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Tapping Currents: Contemporary African Art and Diaspora, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri
2007
52nd Annual Venice Biennale in the Arsenale, Venice, Italy
Artempo – Where Art Becomes Time, Venice, Italy
Un/Fair Trade, Neue Galerie, Graz, Austria
Uncomfortable Truths, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, (touring UK)
Altered, Stitched and Gathered, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, New York
2006
-poiesis, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, June 29–July 28, 2006.
Europe-Afrique: Regards Croisés, Ateliers des Tanneurs, Brussels
Black Panther Rank and File, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
DAK’ART 2006, 7th edition of the Biennale of African Art, Senegal
The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Los Angeles
2005
In the Making: Materials and Process, Michael Stevenson Gallery, Cape Town, August 18–September 17, 2005.
Out There, Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts, Norwich, July 2–August 29, 2005.
AKA . . . of Age 2005, Maison de France, Lagos
De Young Museum, San Francisco
2004–2007
Afrika Remix, Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf, Germany, July 24–November 7, 2004. Traveled to: Hayward Gallery, London, February 10–April 17, 2005; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, May 25–August 8, 2005; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan, May 27–August 31, 2006; Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden, October 14, 2006–January 14, 2007.
2004–2005
Intelligence Now!, October Gallery, London, November 5, 2004–January 29, 2005.
2004
A Grain of Dust, A Drop of Water, 5th Gwangju Biennale, South Korea, September 10–November 13, 2004.
2003
Africa Informs, October Gallery, London, October 22–December 6, 2003.
Biennale of Ceramics in Contemporary Art, Villa Groppallo, Vado Ligure, Italy, September 27–November 9, 2003.
Transfers, Palais de Beaux Arts, Brussels, Belgium
Homage to Asele, National Museum Lagos, May 23–31, 2003.
Selected Works, Skoto Gallery, New York, March 1–April 5, 2003.
2002
One: The Independent, Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art, Liverpool, UK
International 2002, Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool, September 14–November 24, 2002.
2001–2002
The Happy Face of Globalization, 1st Albissola Ceramics Biennale, Museo Civico d’Arte Contemporanea and Museo della Ceramica Manlio Trucco, Albissola, Italy, July 21–August 31, 2001. Traveled to: Musée Ariana, Geneva, Switzerland, June 27–September 2, 2002.
2001
The Happy Face of Globalisation, The 1st Albissola Ceramics Biennale, MuseoCivico d’Arte Contemporanea and Museo della Ceramica Manlio Trucco, Albissola, Italy
El Tiempo de Africa, Centro Atlantico Arte Moderno, Las Palmas, Canary Islands, December 12, 2000–February 4, 2001. Traveled to: Consejeria de Cultura de Comunidad, Madrid, Spain, April 19–May 31, 2001.
Elf Village, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, February 19–23, 2001.
Africas: The Artist and the City, Centro de Cultura Contemporania Barcelona, Spain, May 29–September 11, 2001.
News from the Front, October Gallery, London, January 25–February 24, 2001.
Jazz and Visual Improvisations, Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, New York, January 21–April 15, 2001. (Catalogue)
Ebony Soliloquy: A Five Year Retrospective (1996–2001), Stella Jones Gallery, New Orleans
2000–2001
Encounters with the Contemporary, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2000–February 19, 2001.
Messagers de la Terre, Rur’Art– Espace d’Art Contemporain d’Lycée Agricole Xavier Bernard, Rouille, France, February 2000–February 2001.
2000
El Tiempo de Africa (Africa’s Time), Centro Atlántico Arte Moderno, Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain
1999–2000
Transvangarde, October Gallery, London, December 16, 1999–April 1, 2000.
1999
New Colours from Old Worlds: Contemporary Art from West Africa, October Gallery, London, January 28–March 20, 1999.
The Independent, Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art, Liverpool, September 24–November 7, 1999.
Les Champs de la Sculpture, Champs Elysées, Paris, France, September 15–November 15, 1999.
Contemporary Art from West Africa, October Gallery, London, UK
1998–1999
By Hand and By Computer, Contemporary African Art Gallery, New York, May 1998–April 1999.
1998
Triennale der Kleineplastik, Stüttgart, Germany
Riddle of the Spirits–Twelve African Artists, Skoto Gallery, New York, March 10–April 29, 1998.
9th Osaka Sculpture Triennale, Osaka, Japan, November 30–December 8, 1998.
1997–1998
The Poetics of Line: Seven Artists of the Nsukka Group, The National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October 22, 1997–April 26, 1998.
Free Form and Precision, Contemporary African Art Gallery, New York, October 1997–April 1998.
1996–1997
Transvangarde: Cutting-edge Work from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe, October Gallery, London, December 12, 1996–February 1, 1997.
1996
Container ’96– Art Across Oceans, Langelinie, Copenhagen, Denmark, May 3–August 31, 1996.
Images of Africa, Torpedohallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Seven Stories about Modern Art in Africa, Malmö Konsthall, Malmö, Sweden
Group Exhibition, Avant-Garde Gallery, Kaduna, Nigeria
El Anatsui & Tesfaye Tessema, The Contemporary African Gallery, New York
West African Sculpture – East African Painting, Contemporary African Art Gallery, New York, April–October 1996.
El Anatsui & Sol LeWitt, Skoto Gallery, New York, June–July 1996.
AKA ’96, Bona Gallery, Enugu, May 3–11, 1996.
Transforms, October Gallery, London, April 3–May 11, 1996.
Africana, Sala 1, Rome, Italy, January–February 1996.
1995–1996
An Inside Story: African Art of Our Time, Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, September 23–November 19, 1995. Traveled to: Tokushima Modern Art Museum, Tokushima, Japan, January 20–March 17, 1996; Himeji City Museum of Arts, Himeji, Japan, April 6–May 6, 1996; Koriyama City Museum of Art, Koriyama, Japan, May 18–June 23, 1996; Marugame Inokuma-Genichiro Museum of Contemporary Art, Marugame, Japan, July 7–September 1, 1996; Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu, Japan, September 13–October 27, 1996.
1995
AKA ’95, Bona Gallery, Enugu and Didi Museum, Lagos, Nigeria
8th Osaka Sculpture Triennale, Osaka, Japan, November 18–December 3, 1995.
Contemporary African Art, World Intellectual Property Organization Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland
Seven Stories about Modern Art in Africa, The Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, September 27–November 26, 1995. Traveled to: Malmo Konsthall, Malmo, Sweden, January 27–March 27, 1996.
Art In The Shadow, The Nigerian Pavillion, Africus: 1st Johannesburg Biennale, Johannesburg, South Africa, February 28–April 30, 1995.
Uli Art– Master Works, Skoto Gallery, New York, April 17–June 5, 1995.
10th AKA: A Decade in Furtherance of the Arts, Bona Gallery, Enugu, May 1995. Traveled to: Didi Museum, Lagos, June 1995.
The Right to Hope, Johannesburg Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa, touring to Cairo, Amman, Gaza, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
Configura 2, Erfurt, Germany
1994
Arte/Sociedad/Reflexion, 5th Havana Biennale, Havana, Cuba, May 6–June 30, 1994.
AKA ’94, Bona Gallery, Enugu; Didi Museum, Lagos, May 1994.
1992–1994
Arte Amazonas, Modern Art Museum, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 1992. Traveled as Klima Global, Staatliche Kunsthalle, Berlin, 1993; Ludwig Forum, Aachen, Germany 1994.
1993
Six African Artists, October Gallery, London, November 18–December 18, 1993.
New Currents ’93: Avant-Garde Nigerian Art, Didi Museum, Lagos, Nigeria, November 16–26, 1993.
AKA ’93, Bona Gallery, Enugu, May 3–6, 1993. Traveled to: Didi Museum, Lagos, May 11–19, 1993.
1992
Begegnung mit den Anderen, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany
AKA ’92, Bona Galley, Enugu, May 7–16, 1992. Traveled to: Didi Museum, Lagos, Nigeria, June 1992.
1991
AKA ’91, Bona Gallery, Enugu, May 2–16, 1991. Traveled to: Goethe Institut, Lagos, Nigeria, June 22–July 5, 1991.
Works by a Group of African Artists, The World Bank Art Society Gallery, World Bank Headquarters, Washington, D.C., May 20–June 21, 1991.
The Sculptor’s Guild of Nigeria Inaugural Exhibition, Murtala Mohammed Park, Enugu, Nigeria, December 2–23, 1991.
El Desafio de Colonization, 4th Havana Biennale, November 16–December 31, 1991.
South of the World, Galleria d’Arte Contemporanea, Marsala, Italy
1990
The Calabash 1st Art Exhibition, The Calabash, Lagos, Nigeria
Dimensione Futuro: l’Artista e lo Spazio, 44th Venice Biennale, May 27–September 30, 1990.
AKA ’90, The Presidential Hotel, Enugu, April 26 – May 18, 1990. Traveled to: Goethe-Insitut, Lagos, Nigeria, July 4–7, 1990.
Five Contemporary African Artists, 44th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
Contemporary African Artists: Changing Tradition, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, January 21–May 6, 1990. Traveled to: Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum, Philadelphia, July 6–September 16, 1990; Chicago Public Library Cultural Centre, Chicago, January 19–March 23, 1991; Washington Project for the Arts, Washington D.C.; Museum of the National Center of African-American Artists, Boston.
Achebe Celebration Exhibition, Continuing Education Centre, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
1989
Zeitgenössische Nigerianische Kunst, Bonn, Bocholt and Mönchengladbach, Germany, July–October 1989.
AKA ’89, Hotel Presidential, Enugu, April 19–21. Traveled to: National Gallery of Art, Lagos, June 23–July 3, 1989.
1988
Wall and Gates, Avant Garde Gallery, Kaduna, Nigeria, November 18–30, 1988.
An Exhibition of Sculptures in Wood: Thoughts and Process, Italian Cultural Institute, Lagos, November 12–25, 1988.
SSART Exhibition, ANA Gallery, Department of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, June 17–24, 1988.
AKA ’88, Nigerian Union of Journalists’ Press Centre, Enugu, April 28–30, 1988; Contemporary Art Gallery, Institute of African Studies, Nsukka, May 16–30, 1988; National Gallery of Arts, Lagos, Nigeria, June 9–23, 1988.
Walls and Gates– El Anatsui & Liz Willis, Avant-Garde Gallery, Kaduna, Nigeria
Thoughts and Processes– El Anatsui & Ndubisi Onah, The Italian Cultural Institute, Lagos, Nigeria
1987
Original Prints from the 3rd Nsukka Workshop, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Goethe Institut, Lagos, Nigeria
AKA ’87, The Presidential Hotel, Enugu, April 23–May 25, 1987. Traveled to: the National Gallery of Crafts and Design, Lagos, Nigeria, July 2–16, 1987.
1986
Nigerian-German Prints, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the Franco-German Auditorium, Lagos, Nigeria
AKA ’86– Inaugural Exhibition of the AKA Circle of Artists, the French Centre/Ministry of Education, Enugu, April 4–20, 1986. Traveled to: Goethe-Institut, Lagos, Nigeria, May 14–31, 1986.
1983
Four Contemporary African Artists, Mintec Gallery, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
1982
Okike 10th Anniversary Exhibition, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
1981
Drawing on the World, Billingham Art Gallery, Billingham; Middlesborough Art Gallery, Middlesborough and the House of Commons Gallery, London, UK
1979
Christian Arts in Nigeria, Holy Trinity Cathedral Hall, Onitsha, Nigeria
The Nsukka School, Art Gallery of the Rivers State Council for Arts and Culture, Port Harcourt, Nigeria, February 1–28, 1979.
1975
Dyed Fabric Wallhangings, Burnt-Scorched Wooden Wall Plaques, The Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, May 9–23, 1975.
1974
Tekarts Expo 5, Accra Arts Centre, Accra, Ghana
INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE WORKSHOPS
2008
The Big 4, Channel 4 Headquarters, London, UK
2007
Resident Faculty Artist, The Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME
2005
Out There, Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts, Norwich, UK
2004
Eden Project, Cornwall, UK
2003
Residency, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
Visiting Artist, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
Visiting Artist, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Visiting Artist, University of California, Santa Barbara
Visiting Artist, St. Lawrence University, NY
2001
Residency and Fellowship, Civitella Ranieri Centre, Umbertide, Italy
1999
Cyfuniad International Artist’s Residency, Plas Caerdeon, Barmouth, Wales, UK
1997
International Visitor, The Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
Ondambo– International Forum for African Artists, Windhoek, Namibia
1996
Visiting Artist, International People’s College. Helsingør, Denmark
Images of Africa, Helsingør and Copenhagen, Denmark
1993
International Visitors Programme, USA
1990–1992
World Council Member, International Society for Education through Art (INSEA)
1990
International Visitors Programme, USA
1985
Visiting Artist, Cornwall College, Redruth, UK
1984
Zweites Symposium Nordseeküste, Cuxhaven, Germany
1982–1985
World Council Member, International Society for Education through Art (INSEA)
1980
Artist-in-Residence, Cummington Community of Arts, Massachusetts
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