For his phenomenal achievements in the contemporary art world, the second decade of the twenty-first century may be considered as the decade of El Anatsui, Africa's foremost sculptor. The artist's 2019 touring exhibition, Triumphant Scale, capped an eventful decade of international awards and recognitions for the artist, including the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement (2015), the Lorenzo il Magnifico Lifetime Achievement Award (2017), and Japan's Praemium Imperiale International Arts Award (2017). Triumphant Scale marked a milestone in Anatsui's life, as he turned 75 in February 2019. His experiences in the university town of Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria, where he has lived and worked for most of his adult life, offer insightful narratives on his life and art. From 1975, when he came to Nigeria from Ghana, till his recent retirement, he taught at the Department of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
On February 3, 2019, Ìgwèbúiké:...