William Kentridge
Artist Biography
Kentridge’s artworks are distinguished by their expressive charcoal marks, fragmented figures, atmospheric surfaces, and distinctive interplay between drawing and movement. His works on paper often reveal layers of erasure and revision, creating a sense that the image is continually forming and disappearing. Black-and-white imagery is frequently punctuated by restrained touches of colour, while recurring figures, landscapes, objects, and architectural forms evoke memory, social history, and the complexities of modern South Africa. Through his combination of spontaneity and meticulous process, Kentridge transforms drawing into a powerful language for exploring memory, power, uncertainty, and the passage of time.
STYLE
William Kentridge is internationally recognised for a multidisciplinary practice that brings together drawing, animation, printmaking, film, theatre, and performance. His work frequently examines memory, history, politics, identity, and the complex legacy of apartheid and colonialism in South Africa. Charcoal drawing is central to his practice, with his heavily worked and repeatedly altered drawings often becoming the basis for animated films. Rather than aiming for polished or fixed images, Kentridge embraces erasure, revision, movement, and uncertainty, allowing traces of previous marks to remain visible within the finished work. His distinctive visual language combines expressive draughtsmanship with poetic, political, and often theatrical imagery.
BACKGROUND & STUDIES
- Born in Johannesburg in 1955, Kentridge studied Politics and African Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand before completing a diploma in Fine Art at the Johannesburg Art Foundation.
- He later studied mime and theatre at the École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris. His early involvement in theatre and political resistance art informed the multidisciplinary approach that would become central to his career.
- Drawing, however, has remained the foundation of his practice, providing a starting point from which he develops films, prints, sculptures, theatrical works, and large-scale installations.
EXHIBITIONS & STUDIES
- Kentridge has achieved international recognition through major exhibitions and presentations at leading museums and cultural institutions worldwide.
- His work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Louvre in Paris, the Albertina Museum in Vienna, Whitechapel Gallery in London, Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, and the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
- He has participated multiple times in Documenta and the Venice Biennale, while major surveys such as William Kentridge: Five Themes at MoMA have examined nearly three decades of his multidisciplinary practice. His work is also held in major international collections, including that of MoMA.
William Kentridge is internationally recognised for a multidisciplinary practice that brings together drawing, animation, printmaking, film, theatre, and performance. His work frequently examines memory, history, politics, identity, and the complex legacy of apartheid and colonialism in South Africa. Charcoal drawing is central to his practice, with his heavily worked and repeatedly altered drawings often becoming the basis for animated films. Rather than aiming for polished or fixed images, Kentridge embraces erasure, revision, movement, and uncertainty, allowing traces of previous marks to remain visible within the finished work. His distinctive visual language combines expressive draughtsmanship with poetic, political, and often theatrical imagery.
- Born in Johannesburg in 1955, Kentridge studied Politics and African Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand before completing a diploma in Fine Art at the Johannesburg Art Foundation.
- He later studied mime and theatre at the École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris. His early involvement in theatre and political resistance art informed the multidisciplinary approach that would become central to his career.
- Drawing, however, has remained the foundation of his practice, providing a starting point from which he develops films, prints, sculptures, theatrical works, and large-scale installations.
- Kentridge has achieved international recognition through major exhibitions and presentations at leading museums and cultural institutions worldwide.
- His work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Louvre in Paris, the Albertina Museum in Vienna, Whitechapel Gallery in London, Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, and the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
- He has participated multiple times in Documenta and the Venice Biennale, while major surveys such as William Kentridge: Five Themes at MoMA have examined nearly three decades of his multidisciplinary practice. His work is also held in major international collections, including that of MoMA.
Portfolio
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FROM THE ARTIST
“I am interested in the space between the image and the thing, between the idea and its representation.”
- Born: 1955
- Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
- Medium: Drawing, printmaking, animation, film, sculpture, theatre, and opera
- Style: Contemporary South African conceptual and figurative art