Life in the Creative Lane - Adventures of a Curator

Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by | El Anatsui| Brooklyn Museum 2013

“One of the most powerful large scale art exhibitions I’ve seen in years by the sheer volume, intricate detail and recycled materials required to transform and create the iconic presentation” Norma Krieger

“This was the first solo exhibition in a New York museum by the globally renowned contemporary artist El Anatsui, this show featured over 30 works in metal and wood that transform appropriated objects into site-specific sculptures. Anatsui converts found materials into a new type of media that lies between sculpture and painting, combining aesthetic traditions from his birth country, Ghana; his home in Nsukka, Nigeria; and the global history of abstraction.

Included in the exhibition are twelve recent monumental wall and floor sculptures, widely considered to represent the apex of Anatsui’s career. The metal wall works, created with bottle caps from a distillery in Nsukka, are pieced together to form colorful, textured hangings that take on radically new shapes with each installation. Anatsui is captivated by his materials’ history of use, reflecting his own nomadic background. Gravity and Grace responds to a long history of innovations in abstract art and performance, building upon cross-cultural exchange among Africa, Europe, and the Americas and presenting works in a wholly new, African medium” Brooklyn Museum Website | https://www.brooklynmuseum.org