Press release
El Anatsui, AG+ BA (detail), 2014. Aluminium, copper wire and nylon string, dimensions variable.
Photo: Jonathan Greet. Image courtesy October Gallery.
El Anatsui
12 February - 28 March 2015
October Gallery will present a selection of works in metal by celebrated artist El Anatsui.
El Anatsui’s sculptural experiments with media and form have challenged the definition of
sculpture itself. In particular, his metal wall-hangings have received international acclaim.
Throughout a distinguished forty-year career as both an artist and teacher, El Anatsui has
addressed a wide range of social, political and historical concerns and embraced an
equally diverse range of media and processes. In 2013, one of his largest metal wall-hangings
to utilize his bottle-top technique, TSIATSIA – searching for connection, adorned the façade
of Burlington House. Created to coincide with the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition
2013, this remarkable work won the prestigious Charles Wollaston Award.
The exhibition will focus on a range of intricate metal sculptures. October Gallery has worked
with El Anatsui since 1993, during which time, his work has received worldwide recognition.
These magnificent sculptures have been collected by major international museums,
including the British Museum, London; the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of
Modern Art (MoMA), New York and the Centre Pompidou, Paris, amongst others. Over the
last two decades, the works have increased in size, enhancing the external walls of museums
and galleries around the world.
These larger external installations include: Ozone Layer and Yam Mound on the Old National
Gallery of Berlin (2010); Broken Bridge I, on the Musée Galliera, Paris (2012) and Broken Bridge
II on the High Line, New York. In 2013, the Brooklyn Museum, New York, exhibited a major solo
exhibition, Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui.
March Events
The following events will accompany the exhibition:
Gallery Talk: El Anatsui: Architect of Evanescent Illusions
Saturday 7th March, 2015 at 3.00 pm. Admission Free.
Elisabeth Lalouschek, Artistic Director of October Gallery, will discuss El Anatsui’s career
and work with Gerard Houghton, Director of Special Projects, October Gallery.
Please reserve a place on Eventbrite: http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/el-anatsuiarchitect-of-evanescent-illusions-tickets-15325527064
Film Screening: FOLD CRUMPLE CRUSH: THE ART OF EL ANATSUI
Directed by Susan Vogel (duration 53 mins)
Saturday 28th March, 2015 at 3.00 pm. Admission Free
Filmed over three years in Venice, Nsukka, and the United States, this is a powerful
portrait of Africa's most widely acclaimed contemporary artist El Anatsui. Fold Crumple
Crush: The Art of El Anatsui gives an insider's view of the artist's practice, the ingenious
steps and thousands of hours of labour that convert used bottle-tops into huge, opulent
metal wall-hangings.
Please reserve a place on Eventbrite: https://elanatsuifoldcrumplecrush.eventbrite.co.uk
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El Anatsui
12 February 2015 – 28 March 2015
11 February 2015, 6pm – 8.30pm
October Gallery
24 Old Gloucester Street
London WC1N 3AL
020 7242 7367
020 7405 1851
Tuesday – Saturday 12.30 - 5.30pm
Free
www.octobergallery.co.uk
press@octobergallery.co.uk
Holborn/Russell Square
19, 25, 38, 55, 168 and 188
Alana Pryce Tojcic – 020 7242 7367 or 00447940420631