The Easel

30th April 2019

El Anatsui’s Monumental New Show Is an Act of Justice

A fierce review. The Ghanaian Anatsui makes textile-like wall sculptures using bottle caps, “some of the most extraordinary sculptures of this new century”. Fumes the writer, why are in-depth exhibitions of this artist so rare? Anatsui seems unbothered: “Individual little caps don’t have much to say but when I put them together, then they have a voice.” Indeed. Images are here.

Obituary: Monir Farmanfarmaian, the artist who opened the world’s eyes to Iran

An encounter with traditional cut-glass mosaics in an Iranian mosque changed Farmanfarmaian’s career. Thereafter she blazed a trail of allying “modernist abstraction with Islamic ornament.” This brought international acclaim as well as decades-long exile from Iran. Times change – a museum dedicated to her “lucent” work recently opened in Tehran. Images are here.