El Anatsui, who was born in Ghana and now works in Nigeria, is widely considered today's foremost contemporary African sculptor. Anatsui's wall-hanging sculptures are assembled from found materials-typically thousands of discarded aluminum caps and seals from liquor bottles, which he flattens, shapes, perforates, and painstakingly assembles with copper wire. Although he considers himself a sculptor, the artist meticulously orchestrates his materials like a painter working with oil on canvas or the director of a tapestry workshop. His work is anchored firmly in his traditional culture (Ghanaian kente cloth), Western art (mosaic, tapestry, chain-mail armor, the paintings of Gustav Klimt), and contemporary life (the consumption of alcohol, the detritus of consumerism). According to the artist, the title, Dusasa, can be translated as a "communal patchwork made by a team of townspeople," analogous to the artist's team of assistants.

• Exhibition History

  New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Modern Design: Selections from the Collection," May 30–October 5, 2008.

• References

  Anne L. Strauss in "Recent Acquisitions, A Selection: 2008–2010." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 68 (Fall 2010), p. 82, ill. (color).
  
  The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York, 2012, p. 435, ill. (color).

• Timeline of Art History (2000–present)
  Thematic Essays

  African Influences in Modern Art

  Asante Textile Arts

  Timelines

  Guinea Coast, 1900 A.D.–present
• MetPublications
  The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (2012)

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Arabic) (2014)

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Chinese) (2012)

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (French) (2012)

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (German) (2014)

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Italian) (2012)

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Japanese) (2012)

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Korean) (2014)

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Portuguese) (2012)

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Russian) (2014)

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Spanish) (2012)

  One Met. Many Worlds. (2014)

  "Recent Acquisitions, A Selection: 2008–2010": The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 68, no. 2 (Fall, 2010) (2010)