WILLIAM KENTRIDGE

Early Years

Born in Johannesburg in 1955 to prominent anti-apartheid lawyers, Kentridge grew up in a politically charged environment that would profoundly influence his art. He studied Politics and African Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, followed by Fine Arts at the Johannesburg Art Foundation. In the early 1980s, he trained in mime and theatre at L’École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris, experiences that shaped his multidisciplinary approach. Kentridge continues to live and work in Johannesburg.

William Kentridge Artworks

Kentridge’s art is renowned for its expressionist charcoal drawings, animated films, and cross-disciplinary projects that explore memory, trauma, and the shifting landscapes of South Africa. His process-based practice often involves erasure and redrawing, reflecting the instability of history and the act of remembering.

Animated Films and Drawing

In the late 1980s and 1990s, Kentridge pioneered a unique animation technique using charcoal drawings that are repeatedly altered and photographed frame by frame. Seminal works include Johannesburg, 2nd Greatest City After Paris (1989) and Felix in Exile (1994), which feature recurring characters like Soho Eckstein and Felix Teitelbaum, and address the complexities of South African identity and history.

Opera, Theatre, and Multimedia

Kentridge’s passion for theatre led to acclaimed opera productions such as The Nose (2010, Metropolitan Opera), Lulu (2015), and Wozzeck (2017, Salzburg Festival), celebrated for their innovative use of projected drawings and animation. His interdisciplinary works, including Black Box / Chambre Noire (2005), blend theatre, puppetry, and visual art to interrogate colonial histories and collective memory.

More Projects of Note

Kentridge remains prolific, with projects like the nine-episode video series Self-Portrait as a Coffee-Pot (2024, Venice) and the opera The Great Yes, The Great No (2024, LUMA Arles). His monumental public frieze Triumphs and Laments (2016) along Rome’s Tiber River exemplifies his engagement with public art and historical narrative.

Public Commissions

• Triumphs and Laments, Tiber River, Rome (2016)
• The Head and the Load, performance work honouring African soldiers in World War I (2018)

Awards and Accolades

• Kyoto Prize (2010)
• Commandeur dans l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France (2012)
• Princesa de Asturias Award for the Arts (2017)
• Praemium Imperiale, Painting, Tokyo (2019)
• Queen Sonja Lifetime Achievement Award for Printmaking (2022)
• Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera (2023)

Exhibitions

William Kentridge has been the subject of both solo and group exhibitions at leading institutions worldwide.

Solo Exhibitions

• Museum of Modern Art, New York (1999, 2005, 2010)
• Royal Academy of Arts, London (2022)
• The Broad, Los Angeles (2024)
• Taipei Fine Arts Museum (2024)

Group Exhibitions

• Documenta, Kassel (1997, 2002, 2012)
• Venice Biennale (1993, 1999, 2005, 2013, 2015)
• Musée du Louvre, Paris (2010)
• Kunstmuseum Basel (2019)

Critical Reception

Kentridge’s work has been widely covered in leading publications, including Ocula Magazine, The Guardian, and The New York Times.

William Kentridge FAQs

Ocula | 2025