Curriculum Vitae
Education
1969
Postgraduate Diploma, Art Education, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana
1965–1968
B.A. College of Art, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana
Teaching
1996–2011
Professor of Sculpture, Fine and Applied Arts Department, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
1996–2011
Head of Department, Fine and Applied Arts Department, UNN
1982–1996
Senior Lecturer, Fine and Applied Arts Department, UNN
1969 – 1975
Lecturer, Art Education Department, Specialist Training College (now University of Education,) Winneba, Ghana
Selected Awards
2024
Visionary Artist Degree of Doctor – honoris causa, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, Bard College, New York
2023
TIME100: The Most Influential People of 2023, Time Magazine, USA
2020
Skowhegan Medal for Sculpture, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Maine, USA
2017
Praemium Imperiale Award for Sculpture, The Japan Art Association, Tokyo, Japan
Lorenzo il Magnifico Lifetime Achievement Award, XIth Florence Biennale Florence, Italy
Brandywine Workshop and Archives Lifetime Achievement Award, Brandywine Workshop, Philadelphia, USA
Rees Visionary Award, AMREF Health Africa ArtBall, New York City, USA
2016
Honorary Doctor of Arts, 365th Commencement Ceremony, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts (DFA), 2016 graduation ceremonies, The University of Cape Town (UCT), South Africa
2015
Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement Award, 56th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
2014
Elected Honorary Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Cambridge, MA, USA
Elected Honorary Academician, British Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
2nd Best Monographic Museum Show in New York category, AICA-USA, “Gravity and Grace: Works by El Anatsui”, Brooklyn Museum, NY, USA
2013
Charles Wollaston Award, 245th Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
2009
30th Anniversary Award, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C. USA
Prince Claus Award, Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development, Lagos, Nigeria
2008
Visionaries Award, Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY, USA
1999
Public’s Prize, 7th Small-Scale Sculpture Triennial, Stuttgart, Germany
1998
Bronze Prize, 9th Sculpture Triennial, Osaka, Japan
1995
Kansai Telecasting Corporation Prize, 3rd Sculpture Triennial, Osaka, Japan
1990
Honorable Mention, 44th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
Solo Exhibitions
2025-2026
Safety Curtain, Vienna State Opera, Austria
2025
El Anatsui | Go Back and Pick, Goodman Gallery, London
El Anatsui | Go Back and Pick, October Gallery, London
El Anatsui, Patio Gallery, Kanaal, Antwerp
2024
Music, Fluidity and Reinvention: El Anatsui’s Record Collection, Efie Gallery, Dubai
El Anatsui/Scottish Mission Book Depot Keta, Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh
El Anatsui: After the Red Moon, Museum of Art Pudong, Shanghai, China
2023-2024
TimeSpace, October Gallery, London
Hyundai Commission: El Anatsui, Turbine Hall, Tate Modern, London
2022-2023
El Anatsui: Day After Night, Bakarat Contemporary, Seoul
2022
Shard Song, Efie Gallery, Dubai
Freedom, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town
Stairway Exhibits: El Anatsui, The Arts Club, Dubai
2021
El Anatsui : En quête de liberté, La Conciergerie, Paris
El Anatsui: The Ancestors Are Converging Again, Everard Read Gallery, Franschhoek, SA
2020
Focus on El Anatsui, October Gallery, London
El Anatsui: Triumphant Scale, Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland
New Beginnings: The Epoch of African Art, Pure Lagos Gallery, Norfolk, Virginia
2019
El Anatsui: Triumphant Scale, Arab Museum of Modern Art (MATHAF), Doha, Qatar
El Anatsui: Triumphant Scale, Haus Der Kunst, Munich, Germany
El Anatsui: Recent Works, Zane Bennett Contemporary Art, New Mexico, USA
El Anatsui: Material Wonder, October Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2018
Sedimentations: Assemblage as Social Repair, The 8th Floor, New York
El Anatsui: Proximately, Axel Vervoordt Gallery, Wijnegem, Belgium
Ofrendas, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, USA
El Anatsui: MEYINA, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
The Beginning and the End, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium
2017
El Anatsui: Proximately, Axel Vervoordt Gallery, Wijnegem, Belgium
El Anatsui: Topology of Generosity, Bakarat Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
El Anatsui: MEYINA, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa; Prince Claus Fund Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
El Anatsui: Benchmarks, Royal Academy of Arts, Mayfair, London / October Gallery, Bloomsbury, London (London: 2017)
2016-2017
El Anatsui: MEYINA, Prince Claus Fund Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2016
Afrikas stjerne – Monumentale værker af El Anatsui (Star of Africa – Monumental works by El Anatsui), Trapholt Museum for Moderne Kunst, South Jutland, Denmark
El Anatsui: New Works, October Gallery, London, UK
El Anatsui: Five Decades, Carriageworks, Sydney Festival 2016, Sydney, Australia
2015
El Anatsui – Selected Works, October Gallery, London, UK
El Anatsui Of Dzi, Kunstbanken Hedmark, Kunstsenter, Hamar, Norway
El Anatsui: Five Decades, The School – Jack Shainman Gallery, Kinderhook, NY, USA
Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works By El Anatsui, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, CA, USA
2014
El Anatsui: New Worlds, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, Mount Holyoke, MA, USA
El Anatsui: Trains of Thought, Jack Shainman Gallery, NY, USA
El Anatsui: Playing with Chance, Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos, Nigeria
El Anatsui-Theory of Se, Axel Vervoordt Gallery, Hong Kong, China
Metas, Mnuchin Gallery, NY, USA
2012 – 2015
Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui, Akron Art Museum, Ohio, USA; Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA; Des Moines Art Center, Iowa, USA; Bass Museum of Art, Miami, USA; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, California, USA
2013
El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You About Africa, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Tsiatsia – Searching for Connection, Royal Academy of Arts, London
2012 – 2013
Broken Bridge II, the High Line, NY, USA
Pot of Wisdom, Jack Shainman Gallery, NY, USA
2012
El Anatsui: Stitch in Time, Axel Vervoordt Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium
2011
El Anatsui, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA, USA
2010 – 2012
El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote To You About Africa, Akron Art Museum, Akron, OH, USA
El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote To You About Africa, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada
El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote To You About Africa, Davis Museum, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, USA
El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote To You About Africa, Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, USA
El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote To You About Africa, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC, USA
El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote To You About Africa, Denver Art Museum, CO, USA
El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote To You About Africa, University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
2010 – 2011
A Fateful Journey, National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, Japan
A Fateful Journey, The Museum of Modern Art, Hayama, Japan
A Fateful Journey, Tsuruoka Art Forum, Yamagata, Japan
A Fateful Journey, The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, Japan
2010
El Anatsui: Gli (Wall), Rice University Art Gallery, Houston, Texas, USA
El Anatsui: Wall Sculptures, Jack Shainman Gallery, NY, USA
2009
El Anatsui (Off the Grid: 2009 Surface Design Association Conference), Belger Arts Center, Kansas City, MO, USA
El Anatsui: Process and Project, BRIC Arts | Media House, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Cloth Series Exhibition by El Anatsui, Art Space at Untitled, Oklahoma, USA
2008
Earth Growing Roots, San Diego State University Art Gallery, CA, USA
Zebra Crossing, Jack Shainman Gallery, NY, USA
2006
El Anatsui: Asi, David Krut Projects, NY, USA, in collaboration with October Gallery, London, UK
El Anatsui: Nyekor, Spazio Rossana Orlandi, Milan, Italy, in collaboration with October Gallery, London, UK
2005-2006
Danudo: Recent Sculptures of El Anatsui, Skoto Gallery in collaboration with Contemporary African Art Gallery, NY, USA
2005
El Anatsui, October Gallery, London, UK
2003–2008
El Anatsui: Gawu, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno, Wales, UK
El Anatsui: Gawu, Model Arts & Niland Gallery, Sligo, Ireland
El Anatsui: Gawu, Gallery Oldham, Oldham, Greater Manchester, UK
El Anatsui: Gawu, October Gallery, London, UK
El Anatsui: Gawu, Djanogly Art Gallery, University of Nottingham, UK
El Anatsui: Gawu, Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, FL, USA
El Anatsui: Gawu, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
El Anatsui: Gawu, Fowler Museum, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
El Anatsui: Gawu,University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ, USA
El Anatsui: Gawu, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C., USA
2002
El Anatsui: Recent Works, October Gallery, London, UK
1998
A Sculpted History of Africa, October Gallery, London, UK
1997
Hakpa, French Cultural Centre, Lagos, Nigeria
1995
El Anatsui: Sculptures and Reliefs, October Gallery, London, UK
1993
So Far: Drawings, Paintings, Prints 1963–1993, Italian Cultural Institute, Lagos
1991
Old and New: An Exhibition of Sculpture in Assorted Wood, National Museum, Lagos, Nigeria
1987
Venovize: Ceramic Sculpture by El Anatsui, Faculty of Art and Design Gallery, Cornwall College, Redruth, UK
Pieces of Wood: An Exhibition of Mural Sculpture, The Franco-German Auditorium, Lagos, Nigeria
1982
Sculptures, Photographs, Drawings, Goethe-Institut, Lagos, Nigeria
1980
Wood Carvings, Cummington Community of Arts, Cummington, Massachusetts, USA
1979
Broken Pots: Sculpture by El Anatsui, British Council, Enugu, Nigeria
Broken Pots: Sculpture by El Anatsui, Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
1976
Wooden Wall Plaques, Asele Art Gallery, Nsukka, Nigeria
Group Exhibitions
2026
Art Basel Qatar, M7 – Msheireb Cultural Forum, Doha, Qatar
2025-2026
The Shape of Things To Come, Efie Gallery, Dubai
Nigerian Modernism, Tate Modern, London
Fabricated Imaginaries: Crafting Art, Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Massachusetts, USA
2025
Kings and Queens of Africa: Forms and Figures of Power, Louvre Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
You Stretched Diagonally Across It: Contemporary Tapestry, Dallas Contemporary, Texas
Art Basel Paris, Grand Palais, Paris
Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
General Conditions, The School | Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
The Fragile Art of Hard Materials, Bethesda Fine Art, Maryland
More Than Meets the Eye: Modern and Contemporary Art from Africa, Musée Rath, Geneva, Switzerland
2024-2025
Gathering Fragments, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town
Nothing Too Beautiful for the Gods: Altars and Contemporary Creation, Fondation Opale, Lens, Switzerland
2024
New on View, The Art Institute of Chicago, USA
Vital Force, October Gallery, London, UK
Lines —Aligning Your Consciousness With the Flow, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan
Summer Exhibition 2024, Royal Academy of Arts, London
Echoes of Circumstance, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
Frieze Los Angeles, Santa Monica, California
After Rain: Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, Jax District, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia
Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center
Art Dubai, Madinat Jumeirah, UAE
HARD/SOFT: Textiles and Ceramics in Contemporary Art, MAK- Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna
Art Basel, Basel Switzerland
Rewilding, Kunsthaus Baselland, Switzerland
Soft Power, Das Minsk, Postdam, Germany
Variations: Selections from the Benefit Print Project, Lehman College Art Gallery, New York
Contours of Memory, Montague Contemporary, Chelsea, New York
Iraparu, Goodman Gallery, London
Rupture & Connection, Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas, Texas
Kindred Spirits: A Gathering of the Aka Circle of Artists, kó art space, Ikoyi, Lagos
Ensaio Sobre a Terra, Simões de Assis, São Paulo, Brazil
Entangled Pasts, 1768–now Art, Colonialism and Change, Royal Academy of Arts, London
Art Basel Paris 2024, Grand Palais, Paris
Manual Assembly: Fragments of a Whole, The Goldfarb Gallery, York University, Canada
Collection Highlights, Rubell Museum, Miami
2023-2026
SALA, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art, Cape Town
2023-2024
Obras de la Colección del Museo Guggenheim Bilbao, Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao
Paper Trails: In Collaboration with Form and Concept, Zane Bennett Contemporary Art, New Mexico
The Stuff of Life | The Life of Stuff, Sainsbury Centre, Norwich
Chaleur Humaine: Triennale Art & Industrie, FRAC Grand Large —
Hauts-de-France
Collection Highlights, Rubell Museum, Miami
Accra! The Rise of a Global Art Community, Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio
Works from the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Collection, Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao
2023
A Century Before, TAFETA, London
Collage / Assemblage, Adelson Galleries, Florida
Frieze Masters, Regent’s Park, London
Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami Beach Convention Center
Art Miami, Herald Plaza, Miami
Goodman Gallery Seasonal Pop Up, Miami Design District, Florida
Art Dubai, Madinat Jumeirah Conference and Events Center, Dubai
Transvangarde: Pushing Boundaries, October Gallery, London
Tossed: Art from Discarded, Found, and Repurposed Materials, Middlebury College Museum of Art, Vermont
Ever-Present, Efie Gallery, Dubai
One That Incudes Myth, Goodman Gallery, London
Harmonizing with Nature: A Journey of Lifelong Practice, BEEAH Headquarters, Sharjah
Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Reversed Safari, the Manege Central Exhibition Hall and Triumf Gallery, Moscow
2022-2023
The Bunker Artspace 2022/2023 Season, The Bunker Artspace, West Palm Beach, Florida
Making a Mark: Abstraction in the Ahmanson Collection, Fieldstead and Company, California
Journeys Through the Tate Collection: The Port and Migrations, Tate Liverpool
Time is Out of Joint, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome
Sections/Intersections: 25 Years of Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Collection, Spain
Seeing the Invisible, The National Garden, Athens
2022
Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami Beach Convention Center
Frieze London, Regent’s Park, London
Fine Arts Paris & La Biennale, Carrousel du Louvre, Paris
What’s Going On, Rubell Museum, DC
FNB Joburg Art Fair, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg
Art of Enchantment, MOZA – Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv
Summer Exhibition 2022, Royal Academy of Arts, London
Art Basel, Basel
Stressed World, The School: Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
Nomadic Resonance, October Gallery, London
Benefit Print Project: 10 Years and Counting, National Arts Club, New York
Africa, Imagined: Reflections on Modern and Contemporary Art, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Michigan
Material Earth, Christie’s, London
Revival: Materials and Monumental Forms, ICA Watershed, Boston
The Clowes Pavilion Re-imagined, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indiana
Benefit Print Project: 12 Years of Multiple Making, Freedman Gallery, Pennsylvania
2021-2022
Diaspora at Home, Kadist, Paris
Benefit Print Project: 10 Years and Counting, National Arts Club, New York
Africa, Imagined: Reflections on Modern and Contemporary Art, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Michigan
Threading the Needle, The Church, Tag Harbor, New York
2021
Socle du Monde Biennale 2021: Welcome Back My Friends to the Show that Never Ends, Copenhagen, Denmark
Textures: A Print & Fiber Showcase, Zane Bennett Contemporary Art, New Mexico
Portals, City Library (former Public Tobacco Factory), Athens
Gold and Magic, Arken Museum for Moderne Kunst, Denmark
The Slipstream: Reflection, Resilience, and Resistance in the Art of Our Time, Brooklyn Museum, New York
First Look: Recent Acquisitions & Rarely Seen Gems, MW Gallery, Flint, Michigan
The Met Unframed, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
A National Treasure: Fred Meijer, His Collection and Legacy, Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Seeing the Invisible, The Jerusalem Botanical Gardens, Israel
Art Basel 2021, Messe Basel, Switzerland
The African Art Series, Bulgari Hotel, London
Debut Exhibition (Efie Gallery), Burj Plaza by EMAAR, Dubai
Summer Exhbition 2021, Royal Academy of Arts, Picadilly
Duende Art Projects: THREADS, Zwartzusters Monastery, Antwerp
SITE: Art and Architecture in the Digital Space, The Michigan Central Station, Detroit
Tomorrow is a Different Day: Collection 1980-Now, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
Elixir, Nigerian National Museum, Lagos
Art|Basel Miami Beach, Miami Beach Convention Center
Both Sides Now, projects+gallery, Missouri
Intersect Aspen 2021, Aspen Ice Garden, Colorado
2020-2021
Socle du Monde Biennale 2021: Welcome Back My Friends to the Show that Never Ends, Copenhagen, Denmark
Making the Met, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Second Careers: Two Tributaries in African Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio
252nd Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London
Grace Before Jones: Camera, Disco, Studio, Nottingham Contemporary, UK
The Nsukka Group: Cultural Abstraction, Kunstmatrix, Berlin
Small World Real World, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
Black Stories, Des Moines Art Center, Iowa
Goodman Gallery x Marianne Boesky Gallery: Collaborative Presentation, Miami Design District, Florida
2020
Atmospheres: Artists of the Transvangarde, October Gallery, London
Re-Materialize, Arthur Ross Gallery, Pennsylvania University
IMPART Collectors’ Show 2020, School of the Arts’ (SOTA), Singapore
Myths, Martyrs, Monsters and Masterpieces, Everard Read Franschhoek, South Africa
Goodman Gallery x Marianne Boesky Gallery: Collaborative Presentation in Miami’s Design District, Florida
2019-2021
Heroes: Principles of African Greatness, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington D.C.
2019-2020
Layers, LaBanque Art Center, Béthune, France
Sustainable Thinking, Salvatore Ferragamo Museum, Florence
2019
I’ve Grown Roses in This Garden of Mine – Group Show, Goodman Gallery, London
In the Absence of Light: Gesture, Humor and Resistance in the Black Aesthetic, Stony Island Arts Bank, Chicago
Listen to the Hum, Alice Black, London
251st Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Art, London
The Moon, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
The Warmth of Other Suns: Stories of Global Displacement, The Phillips Collection, Washington D.C.
Prête-moi ton Rêve [Lend me Your Dream], Maison de l’Union, Casablanca, Morocco
Prête-moi ton Rêve [Lend me Your Dream], Dakar, Senegal
Frieze New York, Randall’s Island Park, New York
Infinitive Mutability, Axel Vervoordt Gallery, Hong Kong
El Anatsui: Cire Perdue, Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, France
Investec: Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
The Crime of Mr. Adolf Loos, Axel Vervoordt Gallery, Belgium
El Anatsui: Cire Perdue, Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, France
Ex Africa: Storie e Identità di un’Arte Universale, Archaeological Civic Museum, Bologna
Intimate Immensity, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia
The Light Show, Denver Art Museum, Colorado
New to the Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia
Biennale Arte 019, Venice
May You Live in Interesting Times (58th Venice Biennale), Venice
La Source, Villa Carmignac, France
African Art Now, MW Gallery, Flint, Michigan
Art Basel, Basel
Art Basel, Hong Kong
Global Contemporary: A Focus on Africa, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, New Hampshire
TEFAF Maastricht, the Maastricht Exhibition and Conference Center, Netherlands
2018-2021
Arts of Global Africa, Newark Museum, New Jersey
2018-2019
South South/Between Land and Sea: I don’t understand what you’re talking about but I know what you mean, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town
Common Threads: Weaving Stories Across Time, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA, USA
MAD Collects: The Future of Craft Part 1, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, United States
Museum Collection III – All of the Contemporary Art Collection, Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Feedback: Art, Africa and the 1980s, Iwalewahaus, Bayreuth, Germany
Frieze Los Angeles, Paramount Picture Studios, California
2018
11ª Bienal do Mercosul, Santander Cultural, Porto Alegre, Brazil
Tissage/Tressage: Quand la Sculpture Défile, Fondation Villa Datris, France
EXPO_CHICAGO 2018, Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, Chicago
Joburg Art Fair, Sandton Convention Center, Johannesburg, South Africa
Summer 2018, Mnuchin Gallery, NY, USA
Domestic Alien, Gazelli Art House, Baku, Azerbaijan
Carnegie International, 57th Edition, 2018, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Transvangarde: Leading Contemporary Artists, October Gallery, London, UK
250th Summer Exhibition: Art Made Now, Royal Academy of Arts, London UK
Art Brussels 2018, Brussels, Belgium
Dak’Art Biennale 2018, Dakar Senegal
Exhibition by the Masters, Desiderata, Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos
Masterpiece London, Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London
All Things Being Equal…, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town, South Africa
BRAFA Art Fair, Brussels, Belgium
Resignifications, ZAC – Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa, Sicily, Italy
Second Life, MACAAL, Marrakech, Morocco
Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami Beach Convention Center, Florida
MoMA at NGV: 130 Years of Modern and Contemporary Art, National Gallery of Victoria, Southbank, Australia
African Metropolis: An Imaginary City, Museo Nazionale Delle Arti Del XXI Secolo (MAXXI), Rome
Private Exhibition of Seth Dei Collection, Residence of the British High Commissioner in Accra, Ghana
Parking on Pavement, The School-Jack Shainman Gallery, Kinderhook, NY, USA
Local/Global, Madelyn Jordon Fine Art, New York
Melancholia, Boghossian Foundation, Villa Empain, Brussels, Belgium
TEFAF New York, Park Avenue Armory, New York
TEFAF Maastricht, MECC, Maastricht, Netherlands
2017-2018
Domestic Alien, Gazelli Art House, London
The Coffins of Paa Joe…, The School-Jack Shainman Gallery, Kinderhook, NY, USA
2017
Art Basel 2017, Basel, Switzerland
Les Eclaireur: Sculpteurs d’Afrique, Palais de Papes, Avignon, France
Domestic Alien, Gazelli Art House, London
Three Dimensions: Modern and Contemporary Approaches to Relief And Sculpture, Acquavella Galleries, New York
A Journey: El Anatsui, Anish Kapoor And Jannis Kounellis, Kewenig Galerie, Berlin
Afrique Capitales: Cape of Good Hope Here We Come, Gare Saint Sauveur, Lille, France
La Terra Inquieta/ The Restless Earth, Palazzo de la Triennale, Milan, Italy
Summer Exhibition 2017, Burlington House, London
Intuition, Palazzo Fortuny, Venice, Italy
El Anatsui: Ugwu, Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, France
Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa’s Arts, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington D.C.
Borderline Miniartextil, Former Church of San Francesco, Como, Italy
Threads of Connection, Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Coconut Grove, Florida
The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF), Maastricht Exhibition and Conference Center, Maastricht, Netherlands
2016-2017
African Artists as Innovators, Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University, California
2016
Art Basel, Unlimited, Basel, Switzerland
Marrakech Biennale 6: Not New Now, Marrakech, Morocco
Of A Different Nature, Jack Shainman Gallery, NY, USA
Chaumont-Sur-Loire Arts and Nature Program, 2016, The Domaine of Chaumont-sur-Loire [The Chateau and the Centre of Arts & Nature], France
Green Pastures: In Memory of Thornton Dial, Sr., High Museum, Atlanta, GA, USA
The Woven Arc, Ethelbert Cooper Gallery of African & African American Art, (The Hutchins Center for African and African American Research), Harvard University- Cambridge, MA, USA
Summer Exhibition 2016, Royal Academy of Arts, UK
12th Edition of Dak’Art, Dakar, Senegal
African Artists as Innovators, Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University, California
Festival International des Jardins: Gardens from the Coming Century, Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, France
Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design, Centre de Cultura Contemporànea de Barcelona (CCCB), Spain
2015-2019
Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design, Centre de Cultura Contemporania de Barcelona [CCCB], Spain
Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain
Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany
2015-2016
Embracing Space and Colour: Wall and Ceiling Mounted Sculpture, Vero Beach Museum of Art, Florida, USA
Us Is Them, The Pizzuti Collection, Columbus, OH, USA
I See Myself in You: Selections from the Collection, Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA
2015
Art Southampton, Nova’s Ark Sculpture Field, Bridgehampton, New York, USA
The Armory Show, Piers 92/94, New York, USA
The Contemporary 2: Who Interprets the World, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan
Arts and Nature Program, 2015, Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, France
Africa Africans, Museu Afro Brazil, Sao Paulo, Brazil
El Anatsui: Five Decades, The School – Jack Shainman Gallery, Kinderhook, NY, USA
Piece Work, Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT., USA
Atopolis, Wiels in collaboration with Mons 2015, Manège de Sury, Mons, (Contemporary Art Centre in Brussels) Belgium
Meet Me Halfway: Selections from The Anita Reiner Collection, Cristin Tierney Gallery, New York, NY, USA
247th Summer Exhibition, 2015, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
Field, Road, Cloud: Art and Africa, Anna K. Meredith Gallery, Des Moines Art Centre, Des Moines, IA, USA
Embracing Space and Color: Art On & Off the Wall, Vero Beach Museum of Art, Vero Beach, FL, USA
Re:Purposed, The John & Mabel Ringling Museum of Art, State Art Museum of Florida, Florida State University, Sarasota, FL, USA
The Contemporary 2: Who Interprets the World? 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan
Standing and Hanging, Altman Siegel Gallery, San Francisco, California
Necessary Force: Art in the Police State, University of New Mexico Art Museum, USA
Status Quo, The School, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
Art15, Olympia, Kensington, London
Garden Festival, Le Fenil Gallery, Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire, France
2014-2015
The Art of Our Time: Masterpieces from the Guggenheim Collections, Guggenheim Bilbao, Spain
Making Africa: A Continent of Contemporary Design, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany
2014
Mise En Scène, The School – Jack Shainman Gallery, Kinderhook, New York, USA
246th Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London, UK
Earth Matters: Land as Material and Metaphor in the Arts of Africa, Fowler Museum, UCLA, USA
Art and Textiles, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Germany
Art14, Olympia Grand Hall, London, UK
2013-2014
El Anatsui: Boca Raton, Boca Raton Museum of Art, Florida, USA
Art & Textiles – Fabric as Material and Concept in Modern Art from Klimt to the Present, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany
Earth Matters: Land as Material and Metaphor in the Arts of Africa, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington D.C., USA
2013
The Poetic Line, Makerere Art Gallery/Institute of Heritage Conservation and Restoration, University of Makarere, Kampala, Uganda
245th Summer Exhibition, London, UK
Masters of the Transvangarde, October Gallery, London, UK
ARTZUID 2013, Plan Zuid District, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Chosen, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, USA
Art13 London, Olympia Grand Hall, London, UK
Through the Eyes of Texas: Masterworks from Alumni, Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, USA
Brodsky Center Gala 2013: Honouring El Anatsui and Alexandre Arrechea, Cedar Lake Theatre, New York, USA
2012-2013
1st Montevideo Biennial, Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay, Montevideo, Uruguay
African Art and the Shape of Time, University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA), USA
2012
Dialogues: Contemporary Art from Museum Collection, Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
18th Biennale of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
African Cosmos: Stellar Art, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington D.C., USA
Summer Exhibition 2012, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
We Face Forward, Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, UK
La Triennale: Intense Proximité, Palais de Tokyo/Musée Galliera, Paris, France
Environment and Object: Recent African Art, Middlebury College Museum of Art, Vermont, USA
2011 – 2012
Architectural Environments for Tomorrow: New Spatial Practices in Architecture and Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Japan; Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan
The World Belongs to You, Palazzo Grassi, Venice, Italy
2011
Hunters and Gatherers: The Art of Assemblage, Sotheby’s New York, USA
The Splendour of Truth, the Beauty of Charity, Paul VI Audience Hall, The Vatican, Italy
ARS 11, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland
Art Dubai, Madinat Jumeirah, UAE
As It Is! Africa Applauded, The Mojo Gallery, Dubai
The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama, San Antonio Museum of Art, Texas, USA
Africa Interweave: Textile Diasporas, Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, USA
Environment and Object: Recent African Art, Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, New York, USA; The Anderson, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA
India Art Summit, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India
2010-2011
The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama, Nobel Museum, Stockholm, Sweden
2010
Art Dubai, Madinat Jumeirah, U.A.E.
Who Knows Tomorrow, Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany
Human Rites, The Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, Florida, USA
A Collective Diary: A Contemporary African Journey, Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Israel
Ou Fragment de l’Histoire d’Une Collection, Fondation Blachère, France
The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama, Brukenthal National Museum, Sibiu, Romania
2009-2010
Transvangarde: Leading Contemporary Artists, October Gallery, London, UK
Modern and Contemporary Art at Dartmouth: Highlights from the Hood Museum of Art, Hood Museum of Art, New Hampshire, USA
The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama, Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, Florida International University, Miami, USA
Embrace!, Denver Art Museum, Colorado, USA
2009
Homecoming, Artists Alliance Gallery, Accra, Ghana
3rd Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art – Against Exclusion, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia
India Art Summit, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India
Confines Extremos. Confines Urbanos, Institut Valencia D’Art Modern, Spain
Intramoenia Extra Art – On the Ground, Underground, Castelli di Barletta, Italy
Chance Encounters: Seven Contemporary African Artists, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, India
Art Dubai, Madinat Jumeirah, UAE
The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama, Fundación Canal, Madrid, Spain
Promoter-of- Nigerian-Art Series, Goethe Institute, Lagos, Nigeria
2008-2009
Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary, Museum for Arts and Design, New York, USA
The Essential Art of African Textiles: Design Without End, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Prospect.1, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
2008
Masterpieces of Modern Design: Selections from the Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
The Poetics of Cloth: African Textiles, Grey Art Gallery, NY, USA
World Histories, Des Moines Art Center, Iowa, USA
Angaza Afrika: African Art Now, October Gallery, London, UK
Recycling: The Whole House, Kunstbanken Hedmark Kunstsenter, Hamar, Norway
Juego Africano de lo Contemporáneo: Pre-figuraciones Postcoloniales, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Unión Fenosa (MACUF), A Coruña, Spain
Sonsbeek 2008: Grandeur, Sonsbeekpark, Arnhem, The Netherlands
October Gallery Winter Show, October Gallery, London, UK
The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama, Hillside Terrace Galleries, Daikanyama, Tokyo, Japan
2007-2008
BoysCraft, Haifa Museum of Art, Haifa, Israel
Tapping Currents: Contemporary African Art and the Diaspora, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, USA
The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, USA
2007
Artempo – Where Art Becomes Time, Palazzo Fortuny, Venice, Italy
Venice Biennale, Arsenale di Venezia, Italy
Uncomfortable Truths: The Shadow of Slave Trading on Contemporary Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK
Un/Fair Trade: The Art of Justice, Neue Galerie Graz, Joanneumsviertel, Austria
From Courage to Freedom, October Gallery, London, UK
Living Masters, Terra Culture, Lagos, Nigeria
Sharjah Biennial 8, Sharjah, UAE
Africa Remix: Contemporary Art of a Continent, Johannesburg Art Gallery, South Africa
Art for AIDS/Art Carte, Geneva, Switzerland
The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama, Visual Arts Gallery, Emory University, Atlanta, USA; Rubin Museum of Art, New York, USA
2006-2007
Africa Remix: Contemporary Art of a Continent, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
Primitivism Revisited: After the End of an Idea, Sean Kelly Gallery, New York, USA
Expanding Africa: New Art, New Directions, Newark Museum, New Jersey, USA
Body of Evidence, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington D.C., USA
The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama, Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago, USA
2006
Altered, Stitched and Gathered, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) New York, USA
Dak’Art 2006, Dakar, Senegal
-poiesis, Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, USA
Europe-Afrique: Regards Croisés, Les Ateliers des Tanneurs, Brussels, Belgium
Black Panther Rank and File, Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts, San Francisco, USA
miniartextilcomo 2006 – in_rete, Church of San Francesco, Como, Italy
Africa Remix: Contemporary Art of a Continent, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Havana Biennale 2006: Dynamics of an Urban Culture, Havana, Cuba
2005
In the Making: Materials and Process, Michael Stevenson Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
Out There, Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts, Norwich, UK
AKA . . . of Age 2005, Maison de France, Lagos, Nigeria; de Young Museum, San Francisco, USA
Africa Remix: Contemporary Art of a Continent, Hayward Gallery, London, UK; Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama, The Fowler Museum at UCLA, Los Angeles, USA
2004
A Grain of Dust, A Drop of Water, 5th Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea
Intelligence Now!, October Gallery, London, UK
Africa Remix: Contemporary Art of a Continent, Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, Germany
2003
Africa Informs, October Gallery, London, UK
Biennale of Ceramics in Contemporary Art, Villa Groppallo, Vado Ligure, Italy
‘TRANSFER(T)S’, Africalia ’03, Palais des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles (The Centre for Fine Arts), Belgium
Homage to Asele, National Museum Lagos, Nigeria
Selected Works, Skoto Gallery, New York, USA
2002
Liverpool Biennial: International 02, Liverpool, UK
1st Biennial of Ceramics in Contemporary Art: The Happy Face of Globalization, Musée Ariana, Geneva, Switzerland
2001
El Tiempo de Africa, Consejería de Cultura de Comunidad, Madrid, Spain
Africas: The Artist and the City, Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB), Spain
News from the Front, October Gallery, London, UK
Jazz and Visual Improvisations, Katonah Museum of Art, New York, USA
Ebony Soliloquy: A Five Year Retrospective (1996–2001), Stella Jones Gallery, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
1st Biennial of Ceramics in Contemporary Art: The Happy Face of Globalization, Albisola, Italy
2000-2001
El Tiempo de Africa, Centro Atlantico Arte Moderno, Las Palmas, Canary Islands
Encounters with the Contemporary, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C., USA
1999-2000
The Transvangarde, October Gallery, London, UK
1999
Trace: the Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art, Liverpool, UK
Les Champs de la Sculpture, Champs Elysées, Paris, France
New Colours From Old Worlds: Contemporary Art from West Africa, October Gallery, London, UK
1998-1999
7. Triennale der Kleinplastik, Forum der Südwest LB, Stuttgart, Germany
By Hand And By Computer, Contemporary African Art Gallery, New York
1998
Osaka Triennale (Sculpture), Osaka, Japan
Riddle of the Spirits – Twelve African Artists, Skoto Gallery, New York, USA
1997-1998
The Poetics of Line: Seven Artists of the Nsukka Group, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington D.C., USA
Free Form and Precision, Contemporary African Art Gallery, New York, USA
1996-1997
Transvangarde: Cutting-edge Work from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe, October Gallery, London, UK
1996
Images of Africa, Torpedohallen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Container ’96: Art Across Oceans, Pakhus Quay on Langelinie, Copenhagen, Denmark
El Anatsui & Sol Le Witt, Skoto Gallery, New York, USA
AKA ’96, Signature Beyond Art Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria; Bona Art Gallery, Enugu, Nigeria
Transforms, October Gallery, London, UK
West African Sculpture -East African Painting, Contemporary African Art Gallery, New York, USA
Seven Stories about Modern Art in Africa, Malmö Konsthall, Malmö, Sweden; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA
An Inside Story – African Art of our Time, Tokushima Modern Art Museum, Tokushima, Japan; Himeji City Museum of Arts, Himeji, Japan; Kōriyama City Museum of Art, Kōriyama, Japan; Marugame Genichiro Inukoma Museum of Contemporary Art (MIMOCA), Marugame, Japan; Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu, Japan
Africana, Sala 1, Rome, Italy
El Anatsui & Tesfaye Tessema, Contemporary African Gallery, New York, USA
Group Exhibition, Avant-Garde Gallery, Kaduna, Nigeria
1995
Seven Stories about Modern Art in Africa, Whitechapel Gallery, London, UK
Contemporary Nigerian Art, World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Geneva, Switzerland
An Inside Story – African Art of our Time, Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
The Right to Hope, Johannesburg Art Gallery, South Africa – touring to Cairo, Egypt; Amman, Jordan; Gaza, Isreal; Jerusalem, Isreal; Tel Aviv, Isreal
Osaka Triennale, MYDOME Osaka, Japan
Configura 2: Dialog der Kulturen, Galerie am Fischmarkt, Erfurt, Germany
10th AKA: A Decade in Furtherance of the Arts, Bona Gallery, Enugu, Nigeria; Didi Museum, Lagos, Nigeria
Uli Art– Master Works, Skoto Gallery, New York, USA
Africus: the Johannesburg Biennale, Johannesburg, South Africa
1994-1995
Klima Global/Arte Amazonas, Ludwig Forum, Aachen, Germany
1994
5th Havana Biennale: Arte/Sociedad/Reflexion, Havana, Cuba
AKA ’94, Bona Art Gallery, Enugu, Nigeria; Didi Museum, Lagos, Nigeria
1993
Six African Artists, October Gallery, London, UK
New Currents ’93 – Avant-Garde Nigerian Art, Didi Museum, Lagos, Nigeria
AKA ’93, Bona Gallery, Enugu, Nigeria; Didi Museum, Lagos, Nigeria
Klima Global/Arte Amazonas, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Berlin, Germany
1992
Begegnung Mit den Anderen (Encountering Others), Hall K18, University of Kassel, Germany
Klima Global/Arte Amazonas, Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
AKA ’92, Bona Gallery, Enugu, Nigeria; Didi Museum, Lagos, Nigeria
1991
Sculptor’s Guild of Nigeria Inaugural Exhibition, Murtala Mohammed Park, Enugu, Nigeria
4th Havana Biennale ’91: El Desafío de la Colonización, Havana, Cuba
AKA ’91, Bona Gallery, Enugu, Nigeria; Goethe-Institut, Lagos, Nigeria; National Museum Lagos, Nigeria
Works by a Group of African Artists, World Bank Art Society Gallery, World Bank Headquarters, Washington D.C., USA
South of the World (Il Sud del Mondo), Galleria Civica d’Arte Contemporanea, Marsala, Italy
Contemporary African Artists: Changing Tradition, Chicago Public Library Cultural Centre, Illinois, USA; Washington Project for the Arts, Washington D.C., USA; Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists (NCAAA), Boston, Massachusetts, USA
1990
The Calabash 1st Art Exhibition, The Calabash, Lagos, Nigeria
Africans Awarded at Venice Biennale, Contemporary African Art Gallery, New York, USA
Images of the Nigerian Nation, National Theatre Nigeria, Lagos, Nigeria
AKA ’90, The Presidential Hotel, Enugu, Nigeria; Goethe-Insitut, Lagos, Nigeria
Five Contemporary African Artists: 44th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
Reflections from Africa, Onira Arts Africa, Ottawa, Canada
Achebe Celebration Exhibition, Continuing Education Centre, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
Contemporary African Artists: Changing Tradition, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, USA; African-American Museum in Philadelphia [formerly Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum], Philadelphia, USA
1989
Zeitgenössische Nigerianische Kunst, Bonn, Bocholt and Mönchengladbach, Germany
AKA ’89, National Gallery of Crafts and Design, Lagos, Nigeria; Hotel Presidential, Enugu, Nigeria
1988
Walls & Gates, Avant-Garde Gallery, Kaduna, Nigeria
Sculptures in Wood: Thoughts and Processes, The Italian Cultural Institute, Lagos, Nigeria
SSART Exhibition 1988, ANA Gallery, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
AKA ’88, National Gallery of Crafts and Design, Lagos, Nigeria; Contemporary Art Gallery, University of Nigeria Institute of African Studies, Nsukka; Nigerian Union of Journalists’ Press Centre, Enugu, Nigeria
1987
AKA ’87, Hotel Presidential, Enugu, Nigeria; National Gallery of Crafts and Design, Lagos, Nigeria
Original Prints from the 3rd Nsukka Workshop, ANA Gallery, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria; Goethe-Institut, Lagos, Nigeria
1986
AKA ’86 – Inaugural Exhibition of the AKA Circle of Artists, French Cultural Centre, Enugu; Goethe-Institut, Lagos, Nigeria
Nigerian-German Prints, Continuing Education Centre University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Franco-German Auditorium, Lagos, Nigeria
Grafisches Design, Iwalewahaus, Beyreuth, Germany
1983
Four Contemporary African Artists, Mintec Gallery, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
1982
Okike 10th Anniversary Exhibition, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
1981
Drawing on the World, Billingham Art Gallery, UK; Middlesborough Art Gallery, UK; The House of Commons Gallery, London, UK
1979
Christian Arts in Nigeria, Holy Trinity Cathedral Hall, Onitsha, Nigeria
Paintings, Drawings, Prints, Sculptures, Ceramics, Contemporary Arts Gallery, Rivers State Council for Arts & Culture, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
1978
Introducing Ana Gallery, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
1976
Nigerian Contemporary Art Symposium, The Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
1975
Dyed Fabric Wallhangings, Burnt-Scorched Wooden Wall Plaques, The Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria
1974
Tekarts Expo 5, National Arts Centre, Accra, Ghana
1973
Tekarts Expo 4, Winneba, Ghana
Tekarts Expo 3, Arts Centre, Accra, Ghana
1972
Tekarts Expo 2, Winneba, Ghana
1971
Ghana National Collection, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington D.C., USA
1969
Ghana National Collection, Citibank, New York, USA; National Arts Centre, Accra, Ghana