The Ghana-born Nigerian artist, El Anatsui, will be opening his new show titled, Hyundai Commission: El Anatsui at Tate Modern on October 10, 2023 and it will remain on view through April 14, 2024.
Curated by Osei Bonsu, Curator, International Art, and Dina Akhmadeeva, Assistant Curator, International Art, Tate Modern, the show will be accompanied by a new book from Tate Publishing.
One of the most distinctive artists working today, El Anatsui is the eighth Hyundai Commission artist for Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall New site-specific work.
The Turbine Hall, a space that has hosted some of the world’s most memorable and acclaimed works of contemporary art since Tate Modern opened in 2000.
The yearly Hyundai Commission offers artists opportunity to create new work for the Turbine Hall, a space that has hosted some of the world’s most memorable and acclaimed works of contemporary art since Tate Modern opened in 2000.
The Turbine Hall has hosted some of the world’s most memorable and acclaimed works of contemporary art, reaching an audience of millions each year.
The way artists have interpreted this vast industrial space has revolutionised public perceptions of contemporary art in the 2st century. The yearly Commission gives artists opportunity to create new work for this unique context. The commissions are made possible by the long-term partnership between Tate and Hyundai Motor, confirmed until 2026 as part of the longest initial commitment from a corporate partner in Tate’s history.
Since the late 1990s, he has experimented with liquor bottle tops, the product of a global industry built on colonial trade routes.
Pushing the boundaries of sculpture in new and exciting ways, Anatsui’s metal hangings are monumental in scale and flexible in structure.
Embodying Anatsui’s idea of the ‘non-fixed form’, they fold easily to travel and appear differently with each separate installation.
Interested in the changing histories of the objects he repurposes, Anatsui combines African aesthetic traditions with the global history of abstraction. Over several decades, his practice has explored the evolution of human civilisation, African decolonisation movements, histories of migration and life’s existential journeys.
Repurposing found materials into dazzling works of abstract art, Anatsui’s work explores themes that include the environment, consumption and trade.
Born in Anyako, Ghana, in 1944, El Anatsui is best-known for his cascading metallic sculptures constructed of thousands of recycled bottle tops articulated with copper wire.
Over a long-lasting and distinguished career as both artist and educator — serving as Professor of Sculpture and Departmental Head at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka — Anatsui has developed a highly experimental approach to sculpture, embracing a wide range of forms and materials, including wood, ceramics and found objects.
In 2015, Anatsui was awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 56th International Art Exhibition of the Biennale di Venezia and his work is held in major collections around the world.
El Anatsui’s works are distinguished by his dedication to exploring the transformative potential of art and his attention to histories.
Frances Morris, Director of Tate Modern, said: El Anatsui is responsible for some of the most unique and unforgettable sculptures in recent times and we are delighted that he will tackle the Turbine Hall this autumn for the annual Hyundai Commission.
Anatsui’s much-loved Ink Splash II 2012 in Tate’s collection enchants visitors wherever it’s shown, and we can’t wait to see how this inventive artist will approach a space like the Turbine Hall.”
DooEun Choi, Art Director of Hyundai Motor Company said: “El Anatsui’s works are distinguished by his dedication to exploring the transformative potential of art and his attention to histories. We look forward to seeing how El Anatsui transforms the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern for the eighth Hyundai Commission.”
Anatsui has exhibited around the world, including recent solo projects at La Conciergerie, Paris (2021): Triumphant Scale at Haus der Kunst, Munich (2019); Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha (2019); and Kunstmuseum Bern (2020). He was recipient of the Charles Wollaston Award at the Royal Academy of Arts, London in 2013.
In 2019, a major installation was exhibited at Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, (Zeitz MOCCA), Cape Town, and his work was included in the inaugural Ghana Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.
Anatsui’s work is held in permanent collections around the world including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC; The British Museum, London; the Centre Pompidou, Paris.
