Artist El Anatsui at the Met

I first learned about artist El Anatsui from someone who worked at MoMA while attending Barack Obama's arts event at the New York gallery Mitchell-Innes & Nash a couple of weeks ago. Our conversation on the arts led to El Anatsui's show at Jack Shainman Gallery. When I called the gallery for details I was told that the show had closed on February 2nd but that the Met had just purchased a piece of his work and I finally went to see his work last weekend. Located in the African Art section is El Anatsui's piece Between Earth and Heaven. Created in 2006, it is made of recycled copper wire and aluminum from liquor bottles and is made to resemble a Kente cloth from Ghana. The shaping of the piece details the bends and folds of the cloth. Hanging next to Dogon masks and sculptures from Mali, Anatsui's piece exemplifies how the traditions and techniques used by artists are transformed over time. The photos I took do not do the piece justice because Anatsui's work is rich in color and incredibly detailed. To see the full size photos, please click on each image. (By the way, you can take photos in this section of the museum without the flash.)

The addition of Anatsui's work at the Met is important because it shows that African Art is not limited to tribal masks and carved sculptures, though these are definitely relevant and beautiful. The fact that contemporary African art exists in many styles and is produced by using various techniques and materials also deserves attention. Artists such as Gerard Sekoto, Ibrahim El-Salahi, and Yinka Shonibare (born in London to Nigerian parents and moved to Lagos at age 3) are just a few of the major artists from Africa who have shown throughout the world. Hopefully this purchase of contemporary art from Africa leads to additional acquisitions at the Met and other major art museums.

His upcoming show Gawu, at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art in Washington D.C. opens March 12 and runs until September 2.