El Anatsui and the museum presence of his shimmering tapestries
Published on 07/14/2026 at 22:32 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael MĂĽller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
El Anatsui is one of the most influential sculptors working between Ghana, Nigeria and the global museum circuit. His vast metal tapestries made of crushed bottle caps have become anchor pieces in leading public collections in Europe and North America.
Museum focus on El Anatsui
Museums embraced El Anatsui’s bottle-cap assemblages from the mid-2000s, when works such as Between Heaven and Earth began entering permanent collections. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, for instance, holds the large wall sculpture Dusasa II, acquired in the late 2000s.
The Museum of Modern Art in New York features his shimmering aluminum installation Gravity and Grace, highlighting how his practice merges sculpture, textile logic and abstract painting strategies. The British Museum in London presents one of his major hanging pieces in its Africa galleries, underscoring his impact on contemporary art from the continent.
Collection presence and display strategies
Museums present El Anatsui’s works as hybrid objects that sit between sculpture and textile, usually installed high on walls so the folds emphasize their draped quality. Curators periodically reconfigure the hang, reflecting the artist’s openness to different arrangements of each work.
Major institutions typically foreground the upcycled material - aluminum liquor bottle caps stitched with copper wire - to address histories of trade, consumption and colonial exchange. Labels often stress that each piece can be reshaped, making every installation a site-specific negotiation between artist instructions and curatorial decisions.
Further background on El Anatsui
For additional context on El Anatsui’s installations and their reception in exhibitions, explore more news coverage and institutional materials.
Materials, process and scale
El Anatsui works primarily with discarded aluminum bottle caps, flattening, cutting and folding them before joining them into large sheets using copper wire. Assistants in his Nigerian studio help assemble the modules that form the final, expansive hangings.
Many pieces reach more than ten meters across when installed, turning museum walls into shimmering surfaces that respond to ambient light. The flexibility of each sheet allows curators to drape or crease the work, creating unique silhouettes without altering the core structure.
Where the artist stands now
El Anatsui’s large-scale bottle-cap hangings and related sculptural works continue to be rotated through permanent collection displays in leading museums, with no single next date currently publicly highlighted within a narrow event window.
Key facts on El Anatsui
- Artist: El Anatsui
- Medium / Genre: Sculpture and installation (metal bottle-cap hangings)
- Born: 1944, Anyako, Ghana
- Place(s) of practice: Studio work between Nsukka, Nigeria, and an international exhibition circuit
- Active since: Early 1970s, with sustained international visibility since the 1990s
- Key work groups: Dusasa series, Gravity and Grace installations, large wall-based bottle-cap hangings, wooden reliefs from earlier periods
- Current/last exhibition: Bottle-cap tapestries and related works in ongoing rotation in major museum collection displays, including institutions in New York and London
- Major collections: Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), Museum of Modern Art (New York), British Museum (London), prominent European and North American museums
- Awards: International prizes and honors recognizing contributions to contemporary sculpture and African art
- Next date: No single, publicly emphasized exhibition or auction date currently foregrounded within a short-term window
Frequently asked questions about El Anatsui
Where can El Anatsui’s bottle-cap works be seen?
El Anatsui’s large bottle-cap hangings are part of permanent collections at leading museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the British Museum in London.
What materials does El Anatsui use in his installations?
He primarily uses discarded aluminum bottle caps and other metal fragments, connecting them with copper wire into large, flexible sheets that can be draped or pleated when installed.
How do museums typically install El Anatsui’s works?
Curators usually hang his works high on walls and allow wide, flowing folds, emphasizing their textile-like character and creating changing silhouettes, with each installation adapted to the specific architectural setting.
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