*** This version of Confluence is for testing only and contains a copy of content from June 29th 2026. No changes will be preserved. ***
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Some works in this exhibition include:
Other Works include:
El Anatsui's works on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art "demonstrate the creativity at the heart of African resourcefulness"4. His sculptures have been made from a variety of unique materials like evaporated milk cans, cassava graters, and aluminum seals from the tops of liquor bottles. These distinctive works have achieved critical acclaim for their power and beauty4. Other Anatsui works are presently owned by the British Museum, and the Pompidou Center in addition to the Smithsonian4. Anatsui has also displayed his works in the 2007 Venice Biennale where the Metropolitan Museum of Art's curator of Modern art was "blown away" by the wall hangings5. These pieces were quite different from the others that were present in that Venice Biennale. While most other things were pessimistic and depicted images of ruination, Anatsui's works were uplifting5. This viewing of Anatsui's Gawu exhibitions is considered by many to be his "break-out moment" in which he became an international name. By the end of 2007, a Sotheby's auction had featured a reproduction of an Anatsui work. This truly marked that now "Anatsui had joined the big leagues"5.
The western art market has expanded with its new found appreciation for African works. Artists like Anatsui, Shonibare, Berni Searle, and more are gaining international fame and a greater following. The African presence in the art market allows the art world to expand. New artists, dealers, sellers, and buyers, marks a transformation and evolution within the art market. The art serves as gateway to a lifestyle and perspective that few Westerners truly understand. Newer artists, not to mention the unique styles each of these artists brings, may cause an emergence of a new era of art---an era that is marked by innovative genius, and a different style of creativity.
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2http://www.archives.gov/research/african-art/
3http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/gawu/about.html
4http4http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/03/20/ST2008032003103.html
5http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/style/tmagazine/22nigeria.html?pagewanted=all
6http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/34119/a-conversation-with-el-anatsui/
7http://www.africansuccess.org/visuFiche.php?id=160&lang=en
8http://www.artnet.com/artists/el-anatsui/biography-links
9http://www.octobergallery.co.uk/artists/anatsui/index.shtml
10Picton J, Houghton G, Kawaguchi Y, et al: A Sculpted History of Africa. African Arts, 32:91-92, 1999.
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