El Anatsui is one of the most acclaimed of African contemporary artists, whose works feature in an astonishing number of major collections from Berlin to New York to Tokyo. A professor of sculpture, he has worked in a wide range of media and has invented new ones, including shimmering concoctions of found objects, which he describes as “metal cloths” to honor their inspiration in Ghanaian textiles. This talk will trace the arc of his career and explore the disconnect that sometimes exists between the artist’s interpretation of his works and the rhetoric of their display. What does it take for an artist living in Africa to make it internationally?
Professor Zoë Strother, Riggio Professor of African Art at Columbia University, studies Central and West African art history, with a special focus on the 20th-21st centuries. Her current research is on the history of iconoclasm in Africa.
Free and open to the public; all are welcome!
Sponsored by: