William Kentridge

Kentridge is a South African artist best known for his prints, drawings, and hand-drawn animated films. Both of his parents were lawyers and anti-apartheid activists, his father representing Nelson Mandela and other ANC leaders during the 1956 Treason Trial, his mother founding the South African Legal Resource Centre which provides free legal services. As a teenager, he received art classes at Bill Ainslie’s artist studio. Ainslie was an artist and teacher who supported many black artists, including Dumile Feni who was one of Kentridge’s main influences. He once saw Feni work in Ainslie’s studio and was struck the power of his big and bold charcoal drawings. He first saw a print by Goya, A Queen at the Circus from Los Disparates, when completing his studies in Johannesburg and Paris. He was impressed by the idea that an artwork in black and white could be considered a masterpiece, and by Goya’s message about the absurdity of life in the early 19th century which is equally relevant today.

Kentridge’s work, like Goya’s, comments on injustice, violence and ecological degradation from a poetic and often darkly humorous way. Coming from a background of acting, play-writing, directing, and set designing, he often collaborates with other artists, puppeteers and craftspeople to create multi-media productions that include drawings and prints as key elements.

Some of Kentridge’s most innovative creations are his hand-drawn animated films. These reflect contemporary issues in South Africa like the mining industry, Truth and Reconciliation commission, and HIV and AIDS epidemics. He starts by making a drawing in charcoal, “getting the hand to lead the brain”, and then films it again and again as he rubs things out and redraws them. He gives each change to the drawing a quarter of a second to two seconds' screen time, and he keeps making these changes until he feels that the story he’s been telling has come to an end. The final drawing, with all the traces of rubbings out and changes, is displayed alongside the films as part of the finished artwork.

In 2016, Kentridge founded the Centre for the Less Good Idea, a space where artists can work and experiment together. It also hosts workshops for artists, who might be looking for mentorship. Kentridge understands how important it is for young artists to have a space where they can experiment and learn!

Kentridge’s work has been exhibited worldwide, in institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Musée de Louvre in Paris, Whitechapel Gallery in London, and Zeitz MoCAA in Cape Town. It is part of the permanent collections of many museums including Tate Modern in London, Zeitz MoCAA in Cape Town, and Centre Pompidou in Paris.