William
Kentridge

William
Kentridge

South African, born in 1955


Movement and commitment could characterise William Kentridge’s singular work. A theatre and opera director, the Johannesburg-born artist won international recognition on the art scene through his animated films. “Projection Drawings” are made on a single sheet of paper and animated by a series of moving lines. They subtly address life under apartheid, postcolonial memory or contemporary political conflicts.

This technique lets Kentridge subtly explore human conflicts and their impact on memory. “My art is political,” he says, “in other words ambiguous, contradictory, unfinished and aiming at specific ends: an art of measured optimism that rejects nihilism.” His polymorphic work integrates collage, engraving, sculpture, performance and set design.

Kentridge’s works in the Pinault Collection were presented for the first time during the 2008 show “Passage du Temps” (“Passage of Time”) at the Tri Postal in Lille.
William Kentridge's artwork