El Anatsui

The starting point for most people, and for good reason. Born in Anyako, Ghana, in 1944, El Anatsui works thousands of colored metal bottle caps into hangings that fold and ripple like cloth, so a gallery wall reads as both sculpture and textile. Venice gave him the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2015, and his Behind the Red Moon was Tate Modern's 2023-24 Hyundai Commission. He is still making new series: 2026 brought new works to White Cube in Seoul and Hong Kong, built entirely from salvaged caps. See one in person if you can; photographs flatten the light moving across the metal.