Ghanaian artist El Anatsui has joined the list of Hyundai commissioned artists at the Tate Modern. He will create the next annual Hyundai Commission for Tate Modern.
The annual Hyundai Commission invites artists to create new work for the Tate Modern Turbine Hall, a space that has hosted some of the most notable and celebrated pieces of contemporary art in the world. In the past, artists such as Kara Walker, Olafur Eliasson, Tania Bruguera, Abraham Cruzvillegas, and Cecilia Vicuña have exhibited site-specific installations at the Tate.
Hyundai Motor Company is known for their long term collaborations with global museums. The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea (MMCA), Tate, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), amongst others, are just a few of the international museums Hyundai has partnered with since 2013.
Image courtesy of Artnews
El Anatsui is one of the most prominent artists in the world. He is famous for his metallic sculptures made from thousands of recycled bottle tops articulated with copper wire. In his work, which is often abstract in nature, he questions the concepts of consumption, waste, and the environment by repurposing found objects like aluminium bottle tops, cassava graters, copper wire, and newspaper printing plates.
DooEun Choi, Art Director of Hyundai Motor Company says:
“El Anatsui’s works are distinguished by his dedication to exploring the transformative potential of art and his attention to histories.”
The Director of Tate Modern, Frances Morris says:
“El Anatsui is responsible for some of the most unique and unforgettable sculptures in recent times and we are delighted that he will tackle the Turbine Hall this autumn for the annual Hyundai Commission.”
El Anatsui has exhibited in shows across the world. His most recent shows are: La Conciergerie, Paris (2021): Triumphant Scale at Haus der Kunst, Munich (2019); Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha (2019); and Kunstmuseum Bern (2020). In 2013, he received the Charles Wollaston Award at the Royal Academy of Arts, London. In 2019, a major installation was exhibited at the Zeitz MOCAA. His work was also shown in the inaugural Ghana Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.
Permanent collections of Anatsui’s work may be found all over the world, notably in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; National Museum of African Art; Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC; The British Museum, London; and the Centre Pompidou, Paris.
Anatsui will exhibit a series of site-specific works at the Turbine hall. The London Museum will be open to the public from October 10, 2023 to April 14, 2024. The El Anatsui commission will be curated by Osei Bonsu, Curator of International Art, and Dina Akhmadeeva, Assistant Curator of International Art at Tate Modern. A book will be released from Tate Publishing to go along with the exhibition.
