b. 1955, South Africa

William Kentridge Biography

William Kentridge is a South African artist known for his animated films and drawings, as well as sculpture, tapestry, and works in other mediums that examine the struggles and emotions of post-Apartheid South Africa.

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Often using inexpensive, commonplace materials such as charcoal, pastels, and paper, William Kentridge makes drawings of human figures and landscapes in an expressionist manner. The dramatic stylisation of Kentridge's work reflects his inspiration from satire and artists including Honoré Daumier, Francisco de Goya, and William Hogarth.

Kentridge's work often addresses violence and trauma, and the processes of commemoration and forgetting. In his 2018 conversation with Ocula Magazine, the artist said that, for him, a close relationship exists between the human body and the landscape, 'both in the sense of the work that is done on the landscape, from its defacement and construction—a bit like the changes that can be affected on a person.'

An integral part of William Kentridge's practice is the emphasis on process. For the animated short film Felix in Exile (1994), for example, he made large-scale charcoal drawings, erased parts of them, and made changes. Kentridge photographs each alteration, later sequencing the images into an animation. Throughout the film, the traces of earlier drawings add weight and a sense of traumatic loss.

Felix in Exile belongs to 'Drawings for Projection' (1989–2003), a series of films made from drawings that navigates South Africa in the years leading up to and following the end of Apartheid. Another film in the series, History of the Main Complaint (1996) was made similarly by drawing and redrawing 21 artworks, and follows the story of a white property-developing magnate who is violently beaten and hospitalised.

Though well-established in South Africa, William Kentridge's work was slow to receive international attention until 1999, when his solo exhibition William Kentridge travelled to Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona; Serpentine Gallery, London; and Kunstverein München, Munich, among others.

Ocula | 2021

William Kentridge
featured artworks

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Small Tree by William Kentridge contemporary artwork works on paper, drawing
William Kentridge Small Tree, 2011 Indian ink, Coloured pencil and Found paper
76 x 74 cm
Goodman Gallery Request Price & Availability
Drawing for Waiting for the Sibyl (Geometry of Colour) by William Kentridge contemporary artwork works on paper
William Kentridge Drawing for Waiting for the Sibyl (Geometry of Colour), 2021 Watercolour and pencil on found paper
113 x 178 cm
Goodman Gallery Request Price & Availability
Stroke by William Kentridge contemporary artwork sculpture
William Kentridge Stroke, 2022 Bronze
100 x 74 x 175 cm
Goodman Gallery Request Price & Availability
Bull by William Kentridge contemporary artwork sculpture
William Kentridge Bull, 2021 Bronze
24 x 20 x 8 cm
Marian Goodman Gallery Request Price & Availability
Paper Procession IV by William Kentridge contemporary artwork painting, sculpture
William Kentridge Paper Procession IV, 2023 Steel, aluminium, oil paint
110 x 92 x 39 cm
Goodman Gallery Request Price & Availability
J'ai l'impression d'être ridicule by William Kentridge contemporary artwork works on paper, drawing
William Kentridge J'ai l'impression d'être ridicule, 2023 Indian ink and colored pencil on Phumani handmade paper
152.5 x 163 cm
Marian Goodman Gallery Request Price & Availability
The Battle Between Yes and No by William Kentridge contemporary artwork works on paper, drawing
William Kentridge The Battle Between Yes and No, 1989 Graphite, gouache and bitumen on paper
50.4 x 42 cm
Goodman Gallery Request Price & Availability
Drawing from Preparing the Flute (Temple) by William Kentridge contemporary artwork works on paper, drawing
William Kentridge Drawing from "Preparing the Flute" (Temple), 2005 Charcoal and pastel on paper
120.7 x 160 cm
Pace Gallery
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William Kentridge
current exhibitions

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Represented by these
Ocula Member Galleries

Goodman Gallery contemporary art gallery in Johannesburg, South Africa
Goodman Gallery London, Johannesburg, Cape Town, East Hampton
Hauser & Wirth contemporary art gallery in Hong Kong
Hauser & Wirth Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris +8
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William Kentridge in
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