Artists Press Exhibitions Events Education
Artists
Artists Represented by The October Gallery

Anatsui, El

Burroughs, William S
Cohen, Ira
Foley, Fiona
Friedlander, Paul
Glover, Ablade
Gutsa, Tapfuma
Gysin, Brion
Hazoumè, Romuald
Hobson, Samantha
Tajammul
Jegede, E. Taiwo
Koraïchi, Rachid
Lalouschek, Elisabeth
Massoudy, Hassan
Lamothe, Frantz
Namok, Rosella
Okore, Nnenna
Owusu-Ankomah
Quenum, Gérard
Rimondi, Francesco
Shawa, Laila
Sinzogan, Julien
Wijdan
Wilde, Gerald
Williams, Aubrey
Xu, Huang
Xu, Zhongmin
Yoshida, Kenji
Zulu, Sandile

El Anatsui

( Ghana )

romuald hazoumeBorn in 1944, in the Ewe-speaking area of Ghana, El Anatsui, is today recognised as one of the foremost contemporary artists of his generation. Taking the broad spectrum of indigenous African cultures as an extended canvas, his central themes concern the erosion of these inherited traditions by powerful external forces and the manner of their survival and transmission into the present. His deftly-organised and sophisticated work represents an original synthesis of the many diverse histories of African art with more modern influences picked out from the prevailing paradigm of contemporary western art. In 2007 El Anatsui exhibited at the 52nd Venice Biennale with a site-specific installation. He transformed one of Venices most celebrated Gothic landmarks, wrapping the façade of the Palazzo Fortuny in a vast metal cloth woven from thousands of glimmering bottle caps. As part of the Big Art Project El Anatsui become the third artist to put his unique stamp on The Big 4, the installation that brought Channel 4’s logo to life on the steps of the channel’s Horseferry Road headquarters. El recently exhibited at the 3rd Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art.

Exhibitions


Angaza Afrika - African Art Now
From Courage to Freedom
October Gallery Winter Show
El Anatsui
Intelligence Now

Flag for a New World Power by El Anatsui
In the World But Don't Know the World
Flag for a New World Power by El Anatsui
Flag for a New World Power
On Their Fateful Journey Nowhere by El Anatsui
On Their Fateful Journey Nowhere
Hovor by El Anatsui
Hovor

Lady in Frenzy " Chief in Zingliwu El Anatsui
Lady in Frenzy
Chief in Zingliwu
Split Personallity  by El Anatsui
Split Personality
El Anatsui, Untitled, 2008
El Anatsui, Untitled, 2008
Man's Cloth, Woman's Cloth by El Anatsui
Man's Cloth, Woman's Cloth

Duvor (communal cloth) El Anatsui
Duvor (communal cloth)
Man's Cloth, Woman's Cloth by El Anatsui
Nane
On Their Fateful Journey Nowhere by El Anatsui
Nukae
Akuas Surviving by El Anatsui
Akua's Surviving Children


Click here to view installation at the V&A in Quicktime Virtual Reality

1004 Flats by El Anatsui
1004 Flats
1004 FLats II by El Anatsui
1004 Flats II
Club Windows by El Anatsui
Club Windows
Communcation Lines in 1004 Flat by El Anatsui
Communcation Lines in 1004 Flats



Inside Stories II El Anatsui
Inside Stories II
Iroko by El Anatsui
Iroko
Neospeak by El Anatsui
Neospeak
People's Windows by El Anatsui
People's Windows



Popular Windows El Anatsui
Popular Windows
Untitled 2 by El Anatsui
Untitled 2
Leopard's Paw-prints and other Stories by El Anatsui
Leopard's Paw-prints and other Stories
Mammoth Crowd Series by El Anatsui
Mammoth Crowd Series



Well-informed Ancestors by El Anatsui
Well-informed Ancestors
Day and Night Opening to Each Other by El Anatsui
Day and Night Opening to Each Other
Sleeping Cloth by El Anatsui
Sleeping Cloth I
Keypoints and Buttonline by El Anatsui
Keypoints and Buttonline



Wonder Masquerade II El Anatsui
Wonder Masquerade II
Untitled 2 by El Anatsui
Man Resplendent Pissing Around the World
monument by El Anatsui
Monument
tapper by El Anatsui
Tapper

el anatsui microsite


el anatsui micro site el anatsui 'Asi' Catalogue

Solo Shows
1976  Asele Art Gallery, Nsukka, Nigeria.
1979  Broken Pots: Sculpture by El Anatsui, British Council Enugu; Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
1980  Community of Arts, Massachusetts.
1982  Goethe Institut, Lagos.
1987  Franco-German Auditorium, Lagos.
  Faculty of Arts & Design, Cornwall College, UK.
1991  National Museum, Lagos.
1995  October Gallery, London.
1997  French Cultural Centre, Lagos.
1998  October Gallery, London.
2002  October Gallery, London.
2003-8   El Anatsui: Gawu, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno, Wales, UK. An Oriel Mostyn  Gallery exhibition touring UK, Ireland and USA
2005   El Anatsui: Gawu, October Gallery, London, UK
    El Anatsui: Gawu, Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, Florida, USA
   

Danudo: Recent Sculptures of El Anatsui.Skoto Gallery (in collaboration with Contemporary African Art Gallery, New York)

2006   El Anatsui: Nyekor, Spazio Rossana Orlandi, Milan, Italy
    El Anatsui, David Krut Projects, New York, NY, USA  (in collaboration with October Gallery, London)
2007   El Anatsui: Gawu, the University of Arizona Museum for Art, Tucson, Arizona, the Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles and the Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
2008   Zebra Crossing, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, NY, USA
    El Anatsui: Gawu, National Museum for African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA
    Big 4, Channel 4 Headquarters (special outdoor installation), London, UK
    Earth Growing Roots, University Art Gallery, San Diego State University, San Diego,  CA, USA
2009   3rd Moscow Biennale for Contemporary Art: Against Ecxlusion, Garage Center for Contempoary Art, Moscow, Russia

Group Shows
1974  

Tekarts Expo 5, Accra Arts Centre, Accra, Ghana.

1975   

Fabric Wall Hangings, Burnt Wooden Wall Plaques, The Institute of African Studies,University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.

1979  

The Nsukka School, Art Gallery of the Rivers State Council for Arts and Culture, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

   

Christian Arts in Nigeria, Holy Trinity Cathedral Hall, Onitsha, Nigeria.

1981  

Drawing on the World, Billingham Art Gallery, Billingham; Middlesborough Art Gallery, Middlesborough and the House of Commons Gallery, Westminster, London, UK

1982   Okike 10th Anniversary Exhibition, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
1983   Four Contemporary African Artists, Mintec Gallery, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
1986   AKA ’86– Inaugural Exhibition of the AKA Circle of Artists, the French Centre, Enugu and Goethe Institut, Lagos, Nigeria.
   

Nigerian-German Prints, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the Franco-German Auditorium, Lagos, Nigeria

1987   AKA ’87, The Presidential Hotel, Enugu and the National Gallery of Crafts and               Design, Lagos, Nigeria.
    Original Prints from the 3rd Nsukka Workshop, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Goethe Institut, Lagos, Nigeria
1988   AKA ’88, Nigerian Union of Journalists’ Press Centre, Enugu; Institute of African            Studies, Nsukka and the National Gallery of Crafts and Design, Lagos, Nigeria.
   

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.

1989  

Zeitgenössische Nigerianische Kunst, Bonn, Bocholt and Mönchengladbach, Germany.

1990-92  

Contemporary African Artists:Changing Tradition, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, touring to the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Chicago Public Library Cultural Centre, Chicago, Illinois; Washington Project for the Arts, Washington DC and the Museum of the National Centre of African-American Artists, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

1990   Five Contemporary African Artists, 44th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy.
  The Calabash 1st Art Exhibition, The Calabash, Lagos, Nigeria.
  AKA ’90, The Presidential Hotel, Enugu and Goethe Insitut, Lagos, Nigeria.
1991 AKA ’91, Bona Gallery, Enugu and Goethe Institut, Lagos, Nigeria.
    Works by a Group of African Artists, The World Bank Art Society Gallery, World
1992  

Arte Amazonas, Modern Art Museum, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and subsequently touring as Klima Global to Staatliche Kunsthalle, Berlin and Ludwig Forum, Aachen, Germany.

    AKA ’92, Bona Galley, Enugu and Didi Museum, Lagos, Nigeria.
    Begegnung mit den Anderen, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany.
1993  

Six African Artists, October Gallery, London, UK.

    New Currents ’93– Avant-Garde Nigerian Art, Didi Museum, Lagos, Nigeria.
1994   5th Havana Biennale, Havana, Cuba.
1995   AKA ’95, Bona Gallery, Enugu and Didi Museum, Lagos, Nigeria.
    8th Osaka Sculpture Triennale, Osaka, Japan.
   

Contemporary African Art, World Intellectual Property Organisation Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland.

    Seven Stories about Modern Art in Africa, The Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, UK.
   

The Right to Hope, Johannesburg Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa, touring to Cairo, Amman, Gaza, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

    An Inside Story– African Art of our Time, Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, touring to the Tokushima Modern Art Museum, Tokushima; Himeji City Museum of Arts, Himeji; Koriyama City Museum of Art, Koriyama; Marugame Inokuma-Genichiro Museum of Contemporary Art; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu, Japan.
    Configura 2, Erfurt, Germany.
   

Art In The Shadow, The Nigerian Pavillion at Africus– 1st Johannesburg Biennale, Johannesburg, South Africa.

    Uli Art– Master Works, Skoto Gallery, New York, USA.
1996   Transvangarde, October Gallery, London, UK
    Container ’96– Art Across Oceans, Langelinie, Copenhagen, Denmark.
    Images of Africa, Torpedohallen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
    Seven Stories about Modern Art in Africa, Malmö Konsthall, Malmö, Sweden.
   

Africana, Sala 1, Rome, Italy.

    Transforms, October Gallery, London, UK.
1997   The Poetics of Line– Seven Artists of the Nsukka Group, The National Museum of    African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA.
1998   7. Triennale der Kleineplastik, Stüttgart, Germany.
    Riddle of the Spirits– Twelve African Artists, Skoto Gallery, New York, USA.
    9th Osaka Sculpture Triennale, Osaka, Japan.
1999   New Colours From Old Worlds: Contemporary Art from West Africa, October Gallery, London, UK.
    The Transvangarde, October Gallery, London, UK.
    The Independent, Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art, Liverpool, UK
    Les Champs de la Sculpture, Presented by the City of Paris and organised by the Paris Cultural Afairs Department, Champs Elysées, Paris, France
2000  

El Tiempo de Africa (Africa’s Time), Centro Atlántico Arte Moderno, Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain.

   

Messagers de la Terre, Rur’Art– Espace d’Art Contemporain d’Lycée Agricole Xavier Bernard, Rouille, France.

2001  

Encounters with the Contemporary, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC, USA.

    The Happy Face of Globalisation, The 1st Albissola Ceramics Biennale, MuseoCivico d’Arte Contemporanea and Museo della Ceramica Manlio Trucco, Albissola, Italy, touring to Musée Ariana, Geneva, Switzerland.
    Elf Village, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
    Africas: The Artist and the City, Centro de Cultura Contemporania Barcelona (CCCB), Barcelona, Spain.
    News from the Front, October Gallery, London, UK.
2002   One: The Independent, Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art, Liverpool, UK
2003   Africa Informs, October Gallery, London, UK.
    Biennale de Ceramica dell’ Arte Contemporanea, Villa Groppallo, Vado Ligure, Italy.
    Transfers, Palais de Beaux Arts, Brussels, Belgium.
2004-7   Afrika Remix, museum kunst palast, Düsseldorf, Germany and touring to the            Hayward Gallery, London, UK; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris and Mori Art          Museum, Tokyo, Japan, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
2005   Out There, Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts, Norwich, UK
    De Young Museum, San Francisco, USA
    In the Making: materials and process, Michael Stevenson, Cape Town, SA
2006   The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Los Angeles, USA (touring)        
    DAK’ART 2006, 7th edition of the Biennale of African Art, Senegal
    Black Panther Rank and File, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA, USA
    Europe-Afrique: Regards Croisés, Ateliers des Tanneurs, Brussels
2007   Altered, Stitched and Gathered,  P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, New York, USA
    Uncomfortable Truths, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (touring UK)
    Un/Fair Trade, Neue Galerie, Graz, Austria
    Artempo – Where Art Becomes Time, Venice, Italy
     52nd Annual Venice Biennale in the Arsenale, Venice, Italy
2008   Tapping Currents: Contemporary African Art and Diaspora, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, USA
    Angaza Afrika, October Gallery, London
    Sonsbeek 2008: Grandeur, Sonsbeek Park, Arnhem, Netherlands
     El Juego Africano de lo Contemporáneo : Pre-Figuraciones Poscoloniales Museo de Arte Contemporaneo Union Fenosa (MACUF), A Coruna,Spain
    World Histories, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa, USA
    Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary, Museum for Arts and Design, New York, NY, USA
   

The Essential Art of African Textiles: Design Without End, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA

    The Poetics of Cloth: African Textiles, Grey Art Gallery, New York, NY, USA

Prizes/Awards
1990  Honourable Mention (joint), 44th Venice Biennale, Italy.
1991  Founding Member, Pan-African Circle of Artist (PACA).
1995  Kansai Telecasting Corporation Prize, Osaka Triennale (Sculpture), Japan.
1998  Bronze Prize, 9th Osaka Triennale Sculpture.
1999  Publics Prize, 7th Triennale der Kleinplastik, Stuttgart
2000  Member, International Selection Committee, Dakar Biennale.
2000  Founding Member & Fellow, Forum for African ArtsCollections (Public)

Collections
African Studies Gallery, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
Musée Ariana, Geneva, Switzerland.
Asele Institute, Nimo, Nigeria.
The British Museum, London, UK.

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington DC, USA.
Diamond Bank of Nigeria, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.
French Cultural Centre, Lagos, Nigeria.
Ghanaian Embassy, Copenhagen, Denmark.
The Hammermill Collection, Hellebaek, Helsingør, Denmark.
International Peoples’ College, Helsingør, Denmark.
Museum of Art, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
Iwalewa-Haus, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany.
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
The National Gallery of Contemporary Art, Lagos, Nigeria.
The National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC,
Osaka Foundation of Culture, Osaka, Japan.
Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan.
The World Bank Art Collection, Washington DC, USA.
Centre Pomipdou, Paris, France
Museum kunst palast, Duesseldorf, Germany
Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
Clarks International Art Collection, Somerset, UK
Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, Florida, USA
St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO
De Young Museum, San Francisco, USAMissoni, Milan, Italy


 
 
 

 

October Gallery, 24 Old Gloucester Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3AL
Tel: + 44 (0)20 7242 7367 Fax: + 44 (0)20 7405 1851

Director - Chili Hawes; Artistic Director - Elisabeth Lalouschek; Special Projects - Gerard Houghton;
Curator/Sales & Marketing - Rosalind King; Registrar and Administration - Margaree Cotten;
Press Officer - Alana Pryce; Rentals Manager - Jo Walsh; Education Co-ordinator - Elizabeth Fraser-Betts;

The October Gallery is open from 12:30 to 17:30, Tuesday to Saturday.
The Gallery is closed during official holidays and for the entire month of August.

October Gallery Trust. Registered Charity No. 327032