El Anatsui: Playing with Chance

April 03, 2014

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On March 14, 2014, The Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos (CCA) opened to the public, El Anatsui, Playing with Chance to mark the 70^th birthday anniversary of one of African’s most iconic sculptors. The exhibition charts Anatsui’s professional career through an expressive display of archival material including sketchbooks, drawings, letters, key exhibition planning and instruction documents, books, brochures and publications featuring him, as well as pay slips from the University of Nigeria over a 36-year period.

Also on display are works by three of his former students, Nnenna Okore, Lucy Azubuike and Amarachi Okafor, all well-known on the international art scene.

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The event was curated by Director, CCA, Lagos, Bisi Silva and Taiye Idahor and photographed by Jude Anogwih. According to Silva,“El Anatsui has engaged profoundly with his cultural, political and social history. He has imbued the spirituality of his forefathers.”

El Anatsui was born in Ghana and currently lives and works between Ghana and Nigeria. Solo exhibitions include Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui at the Brooklyn Museum, New York and the Des Moines Art Centre in Iowa. The exhibition was organized and previously on view at the Akron Art Museum, Akron, Ohio, and will travel to the Bass Museum of Art in Miami, Florida, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego, California. Anatsui has been featured in many international exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale (1990, 2007) and the Paris Triennial (2012). He has recently created large scale public installations, including Broken Bridge II, commissioned by High Line Art and presented by Friends of the High Line, on view on a wall next to the High Line (2012-2013), and Tsiatsia – Searching for Connection, which was installed on the façade of the Royal Academy of Arts in London in the summer of 2013.

Oliver Enwonwu

Oliver Enwonwu is founder and Editor-in-Chief of Omenka magazine, Director, Omenka Gallery and Chief Executive, Revilo. He holds a first degree in Biochemistry, advanced diploma in Exploration Geophysics (distinction), Post Graduate Diplomas in Applied Geophysics and Visual Art (distinction) and a Masters in Art History, all from the University of Lagos. He is the founder, Executive Director, and trustee of The Ben Enwonwu Foundation. He also sits on the board of several organizations including the National Gallery of Art, Nigeria and the Reproduction Rights Society of Nigeria. Enwonwu is also president of both the Society of Nigerian Artists and the Alliance of Nigerian Art Galleries.