The Museum of African Art has a wonderful exhibit traveling the United States by Ghanaian Arts El Anatsui. It is currently on view at Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas at Austin from September 25, 2011 – January 22, 2012. From the Museum of African Art website
“When I Last Wrote to You about Africa brings together the full range of the artist’s work, from wood trays referring to traditional symbols of the Akan people of Ghana; to early ceramics from the artist’s Broken Pots series, driftwood assemblages that refer to the trans-Atlantic slave trade, and wooden sculptures carved with a chainsaw; to the luminous metal wall-hangings of recent years, which have brought the artist international acclaim.
In his most recent metal wall sculptures, Anatsui assembles thousands of Nigerian liquor-bottle tops into moving patterns of stunning visual impact, transforming this simple material into large shimmering forms. When I Last Wrote to You about Africa includes a large number of Anatsui’s works in metal: massive wall pieces and large-scale floor installations.
A richly illustrated catalogue El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa, with contributions by Kwame Anthony Appiah, Laurance S. Rockefeller University professor of philosophy at Princeton University; Lisa Binder, Curator at the Museum for African Art, New York; Olu Oguibe, professor of art and art history at the University of Connecticut; Chika Okeke-Agulu, assistant professor art and archaeology at Princeton University; and Robert Storr, dean of the Yale School of Art, accompanies the exhibition.
El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa is organized by the Museum for African Art, New York, and has been supported, in part, by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.”
To see the touring schedule click here
