- Artist
- El Anatsui
(Ghanaian, active in Nigeria, b. 1944) - Title
- Danu
- Date
- 2006
- Medium
- Aluminum and copper wire
- Dimensions
- 88 x 138 in. Overall
- Credit
- J. David and Laura Seefried Horsfall Endowment Fund purchase
- Accession No.
- 2006.35
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Geography
- Ghana
Related
November 2006, sold by William Karg Contemporary African Art (New York, NY) to Chazen Museum of Art
- Chazen Museum of Art. "Bulletin 2003-2007." Madison: Chazen Museum of Art, 2010. p. 39, no. 3
- Sytsma, Janine. "The Sculpture of El Anatsui: Rupture and Renewal at the Chazen Museum of Art." Bulletin 2003-2007. Chazen Museum of Art (2010): 36-41. pp. 36-41, no. 3
- Vogel, Susan Mullin. "El Anatsui Art and Life," vol.1. Munich: Prestel Verlag, 2012. no. 102
- Chazen Museum of Art. "Artscene." Vol. 27, No. 1, January-June 2010. p. 5
- Rarey, Matthew Francis and Henry John Drewal. "Never at Rest: African Art at the University of Wisconsin." African Arts, vol 53, no. 4 (2020): 68-85. fig. 14
- Vogel, Susan Mullin. "El Anatsui Art and Life," vol. 2. Munich: Prestel Verlag, 2020. p. 82
This colorful artwork, evoking the look of a rich, heavy tapestry or blanket, hangs on the wall and is comprised of thousands of small, thin, flat metal tiles linked together creating a large, rectangular sheet. The metal tiles, approximately three inches tall by half inch wide with rippled edges, appear to be made from flattened pieces of commercial product packaging in a variety of colors and patterns. These tiles are stitched together with loops of thin copper wire, arranged in horizontal rows and vertical columns. Most tiles are gold, creating a warm metallic sheen, but closer inspection reveals a rainbow of interspersed colors and patterns, including printed text, solid colors, plaid, and stripes, giving the surface a highly textured, mosaic-like quality. A distinct horizontal border along the bottom edge features smaller, square tiles and bands of solid color. The ragged or incomplete finish of the right and bottom edges reveals the layered, constructed nature of the piece. The artwork hangs from the wall with organic, wavy contours, resembling a draped tapestry.
The Chazen Museum of Art welcomes comments or inquiries about works in our collection. Please allow two–three weeks for a response. Chazen staff is not able to provide valuations or authentications and such inquiries cannot be answered.
"*" indicates required fields