El Anatsui makes gorgeous recycled sculptures from discarded aluminum cans

Nestled in the village of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinderhook_(town),_New_York" target="_blank">Kinderhook</a> about two and a half hours north of NYC, gallerist <a href="http://www.jackshainman.com/school/" target="_blank">Jack Shainman’s The School</a> is attracting both locals and day trippers from the city every weekend. The ambitious <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/adaptive-reuse/" target="_blank">adaptive reuse</a> project transformed a disused school into a massive 30,000-square-foot exhibition space, which dwarfs the gallery’s two Chelsea locations. For the 2015 summer season, The School is hosting a comprehensive retrospective by the iconic <a href="http://inhabitat.com/el-anatsui-upcycles-bottle-caps-into-gorgeous-glittering-tapestries/el-anatsui1/" target="_blank">Ghanian artist El Anatsui</a>, who makes glittering sculptural works from recycled materials found in his adopted home of Nigeria.

The wide halls and oversized windows at The School allow for a different sort of art viewing, one that is slowed down and allowed time to contemplate and savor the details of the art work- a luxury often overlooked in the chaos of New York City.

This extra time and space is especially vital to examining Anatsui’s work, which has intricate details that reveal themselves upon closer inspection.

Anatsui is largely known for his grandiose tapestries, made from tiny fragments of discarded aluminum from <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/recycled-bottles/" target="_blank">liquor bottles</a> produced in Nigeria.

The color metal bits, often just one square inch or smaller, are treated like pieces of a quilt, organized by color and affixed together to make one massive wall hanging.

Together, the cast-off metals from liquor and soda labels become delicate, yet powerful masses, sometimes hung from walls like a precious fabric, and others bent and contorted to form waves upon the ground.

The <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/recycled-metal/" target="_blank">recycled metal</a> fragments not only draw attention to a consumerist culture, and its subsequent waste, but also commentary on cross cultural exchange and the effects of the Western world on Anatsui’s home country of Nigeria.

This recycled metal sculpture hangs in The School's entryway.

Dozens of cast off tin boxes from consumer products are recycled into an immersive installation.

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Gold painted aluminum bits are gathered to make a glittering form.