“In the exhibition are twelve recent monumental wall and floor sculptures, widely considered to represent the apex of Anatsui’s career. The metal wall works, created with bottle caps from a distillery in Nsukka, are pieced together to form colorful, textured hangings that take on radically new shapes with each installation. Anatsui is captivated by his materials’ history of use, reflecting his own nomadic background. Gravity and Grace responds to a long history of innovations in abstract art and performance, building upon cross-cultural exchange among Africa, Europe, and the Americas and presenting works in a wholly new, African medium.”
El Anatsui’s reasoning for the bottle cap medium is simple. It’s affordable and accessible. As an artist he believes that if you use a cheaper medium, then there is nothing that can hold you back in terms of scale and size. You are free to imagine and truly express your art free of capitalistic ceilings and boundaries.