Exhibition
El Anatsui: Prints and Play
Untitled (Black on Gold), 2019, El Anatsui. Black ink rubbing on goldleaf Gasenshi paper, 53 1/8 × 53 1/8 inches. Printed by Factum Arte, Madrid, Published by October Gallery, London, and Factum Arte, Madrid, Philadelphia Museum of Art: Purchased with the Henry P. McIlhenny Fund, the James D. Crawford and Judith N. Dean Fund, the Lola Downin Peck Fund, and the Alice Newton Osborn Fund, 2025 90 2, Photo by Jonathan Greet © El Anatsui.
When
Opens December 19
Where
Main Building, Morgan, Korman, and Field Galleries 150-155
About
"El Anatsui: Prints and Play" will present the first comprehensive museum survey of prints by Ghanaian artist El Anatsui (b. 1944). Largely known for constructing large-scale sculptures and site-specific installations by repurposing everyday objects and discarded materials such as aluminum bottle caps, wooden market trays, and metal cassava graters, this presentation will illuminate Anatsui’s pioneering use of nontraditional materials and techniques to push the boundaries of printmaking.
The exhibition will mark the second collaboration between the artist and the PMA. In October 2024, Anatsui unveiled a major sculptural commission in the museum's Williams Forum. These projects have built upon Anatsui’s ties to Philadelphia institutions, particularly the Brandywine Workshop and Archives, where a related exhibition will run concurrently.
Photo courtesy of artist.
About the Artist:
El Anatsui (b. 1944, Ghana) is an internationally acclaimed artist who transforms simple materials into complex assemblages that create distinctive visual impact. Anatsui uses resources typically discarded such as liquor bottle caps and cassava graters to create sculptures that defy categorization. Anatsui’s use of these materials reflects his interest in reuse, transformation, and an intrinsic desire to connect to his continent while transcending the limitations of place.
El Anatsui’s works can be found amongst some of the most prestigious art collections in the world, including permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; The Museum of Modern Art, NY; National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC; The British Museum; the Tate Modern, London; the Vatican Museum; and many more.
Image courtesy of Chika Okeke-Agulu.
About the Guest Curator:
An artist, critic, and art historian, Chika Okeke-Agulu specializes in indigenous, modern, and contemporary African and African Diaspora art history and theory. He is the Robert Schirmer Professor of Art & Archaeology and African American Studies and Director of African World Initiative at Princeton University. He previously taught at The Pennsylvania State University and University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Born in Umuahia, Nigeria, Okeke-Agulu earned an MFA (Painting) from the University of Nigeria, and PhD (Art History) from Emory University.
As a curator, Okeke-Agulu co-organized "Samuel Fosso: Affirmative Acts," Princeton University Art Museum, 2022; and (with Okwui Enwezor) the traveling survey "El Anatsui: Triumphant Scale," Haus der Kunst, Munich (2019). Okeke’s recent publications include "El Anatsui. The Reinvention of Sculpture" (Damiani, 2022); "African Artists: From 1882 to Now" (Phaidon, 2021); and "Yusuf Grillo: Painting. Lagos. Life" (Skira, 2020). He is co-editor of "Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art" and writes the blog "Ọfọdunka".
Image Gallery
Metal Cloth, 2023, El Anatsui. Inkjet print on aluminum with copper wire, Approx. 64 × 64 × 4 inches, Printed by Ribuoli Digital, New York, Published by Benefit Print Project, New York. Photo by Christopher Burke Studios. © El Anatsui.
Untitled, 2025, El Anatsui. Color woodcut (laser cut), 46 × 62 in. (116.8 × 157.5 cm). Printer: Alexis Nutini. Printed and published by Brandywine Workshop and Archives, Philadelphia.
Sage and Charcoal Eclipse, 2016, El Anatsui. Collage of relief and intaglio prints (machine cut), 41 7/16 × 41 7/16 inches. Printed by Factum Arte, Madrid, Published by October Gallery, London, and Factum Arte, Madrid, Photo by Oak Taylor-Smith © El Anatsui.
Untitled (Cassava Graters Imprints and Collage), 2016, El Anatsui. Relief print with copper wire, mounted to cut aluminum sheet, 7 ft. 10 1/2 in. × 6 ft. 6 3/4 inches. Printed by Factum Arte, Madrid, Published by October Gallery, London, and Factum Arte, Madrid, Philadelphia Museum of Art: Purchased with the Henry P. McIlhenny Fund, the James D. Crawford and Judith N. Dean Fund, the Lola Downin Peck Fund, and the Alice Newton Osborn Fund, 2025 90 1 , Photo by Oak Taylor-Smith © El Anatsui.
Untitled (with Red), 2014–15, El Anatsui. Stenciling and hand painted enamel on aluminum, Approx. 40 × 36 inches. Printed by Brand X Editions, New York, Published by Benefit Print Project, New York, Middlebury College Museum of Art, Gift of the Benefit Print Project, New York, 2020.017, Photo by Benefit Print Project © El Anatsui.
Untitled (Black on Gold), 2019, El Anatsui. Black ink rubbing on goldleaf Gasenshi paper, 53 1/8 × 53 1/8 inches. Printed by Factum Arte, Madrid, Published by October Gallery, London, and Factum Arte, Madrid, Philadelphia Museum of Art: Purchased with the Henry P. McIlhenny Fund, the James D. Crawford and Judith N. Dean Fund, the Lola Downin Peck Fund, and the Alice Newton Osborn Fund, 2025 90 2, Photo by Jonathan Greet © El Anatsui.
Curators
Chika Okeke-Agulu, Robert Schirmer Professor of Art and Archaeology and African American Studies Role African and African Diaspora Art, Princeton University
Heather Hughes, Kathy and Ted Fernberger Associate Curator of Prints
With: Alexandra Schoolman, Exhibition Assistant; Luiza Repsold França, Daniel W. Dietrich II Fellow in Modern and Contemporary Art; Iheanyi Onwuegbucha, Assistant Professor, Department of History of Art, University of Cambridge
Support
Major support for the exhibition and catalogue has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
Generous support for the exhibition is provided by The Annenberg Endowment for Special Exhibitions, the Lois G. and Julian A. Brodsky Installation and Exhibition Fund, and the Robert Montgomery Scott Endowment for Exhibitions.
Principal funding for the catalogue is generously provided by the Wyncote Foundation.
Exhibitions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art are underwritten by the Annual Exhibition Fund supported by Andrea Baldeck, M.D.; Julia and David Fleischner; Robert Hayes; Mark W. Strong and Dana Strong.