William Kentridge Biography
-
+ Biography
William Kentridge (born Johannesburg, South Africa, 1955) is internationally acclaimed for his drawings, films, theatre and opera productions.
His method combines drawing, writing, film, performance, music, theatre, and collaborative practices to create works of art that are grounded in politics, science, literature and history, yet maintaining a space for contradiction and uncertainty.
Kentridge’s work has been seen in museums and galleries around the world since the 1990s, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Albertina Museum in Vienna, Musée du Louvre in Paris, Whitechapel Gallery in London, Louisiana Museum in Copenhagen, the Reina Sofia museum in Madrid, the Kunstmuseum in Basel, Zeitz MOCAA and the Norval Foundation in Cape Town and the Royal Academy of Arts in London. He has participated a number of times in Documenta in Kassel (2012, 2002,1997) and the Venice Biennale (2015, 2013, 2005, 1999 and 1993).
Opera productions include Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Shostakovich’s The Nose, and Alban Berg’s operas Lulu and Wozzeck, and have been seen at opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, La Scala in Milan, English National Opera in London, Opera de Lyon, Amsterdam opera, the Sydney Opera House and the Salzburg Festival.
Kentridge’s theatrical productions, performed in theatres and at festivals across the globe include Refuse the Hour, Winterreise, Paper Music, The Head & the Load, Ursonate, Sibyl and The Great Yes, The Great No and in collaboration with the Handspring Puppet Company, Ubu & the Truth Commission, Faustus in Africa!, Il Ritorno d’Ulisse and Woyzeck on the Highveld.
In 2016 Kentridge founded the Centre for Less Good Idea in Johannesburg: a space for responsive thinking and making through experimental, collaborative and cross-disciplinary arts practices. The centre hosts an ongoing programme of workshops, public performances, and mentorship activities.
Kentridge is the recipient of honorary doctorates from several universities including Yale, London University and Columbia University. In 2010, he received the Kyoto Prize. In 2012, he was awarded the Commandeur dans l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France and he presented the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures at Harvard University. In 2015 he was appointed an Honorary Academician of the Royal Academy in London. In 2017, he received the Princesa de Asturias Award for the arts, and in 2018, the Antonio Feltrinelli International Prize. In 2019 he received the Praemium Imperiale award in painting in Tokyo. In 2021 he was made a Foreign Associate Member to the French Académie des Beaux Arts, Paris. In 2022 he was presented the Honour of the Order of the Star of Italy and in 2023 he received the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera for Sibyl in London.
His work can be found in the collections of Art Gallery of Western Australia (Perth), Art Institute of Chicago, Carnegie Museum of Art (New York), San Diego Museum of Art, Fondation Cartier (Paris), Zetiz MoCAA (Cape Town), Norval Foundation (Cape Town), LACMA (Los Angeles), Haus der Kunst (Munich), Sharjah Art Foundation, Mudam (Luxembourg), Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montreal, MoMA (New York), SF MoMA (San Francisco), Castello di Rivoli (Turin), Moderna Museet, Stockholm, MoCA (Los Angeles), Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne), Johannesburg Art Gallery, MAXXI (Rome), Louisiana Museum (Humlebaek,Denmark), National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa), National Museum of Modern Art (Kyoto), Israel Museum (Jerusalem), Inhotim Museum (Brumadinho, Brazil), Broad Art Foundation, Los Angeles, Centre Pompidou (Paris), Fondation Louis Vuitton (Paris), National Gallery of Australia (Canberra), Tate Modern (London), Sifang Art Museum (Nanjing), Kunsthalle Mannheim, Vehbi Koç Foundation (Istanbul), Luma Foundation (Arles), Museum of Fine Arts (Budapest), Fundació Sorigué (Lleida, Spain), Guggenheim (Abu Dhabi), Kunsthalle Praha (Prague) and Amorepacific Museum of Art (Seoul); as well as private collections worldwide.
-
+ Exhibitions
1979
- William Kentridge, The Market Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
1981
- Domestic Scenes, The Market Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
1985
William Kentridge, Cassirer Fine Art, Johannesburg, South Africa
1986
William Kentridge, Cassirer Fine Art, Johannesburg, South Africa
1987
In the Heart of the Beast, Vanessa Devereux Gallery, London, U.K.
1988
William Kentridge, Cassirer Fine Art, Johannesburg, South Africa
1989
Responsible Hedonism, Vanessa Devereux Gallery, London, U.K.
1990
William Kentridge: Drawings and Graphics, Cassirer Fine Art and the Gallery on The Market, Johannesburg, South Africa
William Kentridge: Drawings, Gallery International Cape Town, South Africa
1992
Drawings for Projection, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
Drawings for Projection, Vanessa Devereux Gallery, London, U.K.
1993
William Kentridge, Ruth Bloom Gallery, Los Angeles, U.S.A.
1995
- Eidophusikon, 4th Istanbul Biennale, Turkey
- Africus: Johannesburg Biennale, 1st Johannesburg Biennale, South Africa
1996
- Colours: Contemporary Art from South Africa, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany
1997
- Applied Drawings, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Trade Routes: History and Geography, 2nd Johannesburg Biennale, South Africa
- Documenta X, Museum Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany
1998
- William Kentridge: Drawings for Projection, The Drawing Center, New York, U.S.A.
- Weighing… and Wanting, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge, Stephen Friedman Gallery and A22 Gallery, London, U.K.
- William Kentridge, Kunstverein Munchen, Munich, Germany
- William Kentridge, Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge, Neue Galerie Graz am Landesmuseum Joanneum, Graz, Austria
- William Kentridge, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium
2000
- William Kentridge: Procession, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, Australia
- William Kentridge, Stephen Friedman Gallery, London, U.K.
- William Kentridge: New Work, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
- Procession: Sculpture by William Kentridge, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
2001
- William Kentridge, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C., U.S.A.
- William Kentridge, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge, Galerie Marian Goodman, Paris, France
- The Short Century: Independence and Liberation Movements in Africa 1945 – 1994, Museum Villa Stuck, Munich, Germany
2002
- William Kentridge, Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge, Lia Rumma Gallery, Milan, Italy
- William Kentridge, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, Australia
- William Kentridge: Zeno Writing, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
2003
- William Kentridge, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
- William Kentridge, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
- William Kentridge: Journey to the Moon and 7 Fragments for Georges Méliès, Baltic Arts Centre Visby, Sweden
- William Kentridge, Mönchehaus Museum für Moderne Kunst, Goslar, Germany
2004
- William Kentridge, Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte, Turin, Italy
- William Kentridge, K20 K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein, Dusseldorf, Germany
- William Kentridge, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia
- William Kentridge, Art 3 and la CRAC, Valence, France
- William Kentridge, Museé Chateau d’Annecy, Annecy, France
- William Kentridge, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, Australia
- William Kentridge, Galerie Marian Goodman, Paris, France
- William Kentridge, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, U.S.A.
- Africa Remix: Contemporary Art of a Continent, Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf, Germany
2005
- William Kentridge, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
- William Kentridge, Musée d’Art Contemporain, Montreal, Canada
- William Kentridge, Model Arts and Niland Gallery, Sligo, Ireland
- William Kentridge, Limerick City Gallery of Art, Limerick, Ireland
- William Kentridge: Black Box/Chambre Noire, Deutsche Guggenheim Museum, Berlin, Germany
- William Kentridge, Galleria Lia Rumma, Naples, Italy
- William Kentridge: 7 Fragments for Georges Méliès, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, U.S.A.
- The Experience of Art, 51st Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
2006
- William Kentridge, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, Ireland
- William Kentridge: Black Box/Chambre Noire, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
- William Kentridge: Black Box/Chambre Noire, Museum Höxter-Corvey, Höxter, Germany
- William Kentridge: Black Box/Chambre Noire, Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, Austria
- William Kentridge/The Magic Flute: Drawings and Projections, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York
- William Kentridge, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge: 7 Fragments for Georges Méliès, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
- William Kentridge: Preparing the Flute, Art for the World, Isola Madre, Borromeo Islands, Lake Maggiore, Italy
- William Kentridge, Galerie Marian Goodman, Paris, France
2007
- What Will Come (has already come), Städel Museum, Frankfurt, Germany
- William Kentridge: Doppelt Sehen – Neue Zeichnungen und Projectionen, Kunsthalle Bremen, Germany
- William Kentridge: 7 Fragments for Georges Méliès and Black Box/Chambre Noire, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
- William Kentridge: 7 Fragments for Georges Méliès and Black Box/Chambre Noire, Malmö Konsthall, Malmö, Sweden
- William Kentridge: 7 Fragments for Georges Méliès, Journey to the Moon and Day for Night, Hamburger Bahnhof Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin Germany
- William Kentridge’s Prints, Edinburgh Festival, Edinburgh, U.K.
- William Kentridge’s Prints, Smith College Art Museum, Northampton, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge: Fragile Identities, University of Brighton, Brighton, U.K.
- What Will Come, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
- William Kentridge: Tapestries, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, U.S.A.
2008
- William Kentridge: Seeing Double, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge, Galerie Marian Goodman, Paris, France
- William Kentridge, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, Australia
- (REPEAT) from the beginning / Da Capo, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Venice, Italy
- (REPEAT) from the beginning, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
2009
- William Kentridge: Tapestries, Museo di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy
- William Kentridge: Five Themes, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Fort Worth U.S.A.
- William Kentridge: Five Themes, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge: What We See & What We Know, National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan
- William Kentridge, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, U.S.A.
2010
- William Kentridge: Five Themes, Albertina, Vienna, Austria
- William Kentridge: Five Themes, Museum of Modern Art, New York, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge: Five Themes, Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge: What We See & What We Know, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art,
- William Kentridge: What We See & What We Know, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan
- William Kentridge: Ambivalent Affinities, Kannert Art Museum, University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge: Carnets d’Egypte, Museé du Louvre, Paris, France
- William Kentridge: Breathe, Dissolve, Return, Galerie Marian Goodman, Paris, France
2011
- William Kentridge: Five Themes, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
- William Kentridge: Five Themes, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- William Kentridge, Seagull Editions, Calcutta, India
- William Kentridge, Galleria Lia Rumma, Milan, Italy
- La Negation du Temps – Prologue, Le Laboratoire, Paris, France
- William Kentridge: Other Faces, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
- I am not me, the horse is not mine, Cité du Livre, Aix-en-Provence, France
- Chostakovitch, Atelier Cézanne, Aix-en-Provence, France
- William Kentridge: Other Faces, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
2012
- The Refusal of Time, Documenta 13, Kassel, Germany
- Fortuna, Instituto Moreira Salles, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- William Kentridge: No se unirá usted al baile, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, Malaga, Spain
- William Kentridge: Universal Archive (parts 7 – 23), Annandale Galleries, Sydney, Australia
- MCA DNA: William Kentridge, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge: I am not me the horse is not mine, Tate Modern, London, U.K.
- William Kentridge: Vertical Thinking, MAXXI – Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy
- William Kentridge as Printmaker, The Blue Coat, Liverpool, U.K.
- Rise and Fall of Apartheid: Photography and the Bureaucracy of Everyday Life, International Centre of Photography, New York, U.S.A.
2013
- No, It Is, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
- Fortuna, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Brazil
- Fortuna, Fundacao Ibere Camargo, Porto Alegre, Brazil
- William Kentridge as Printmaker, QUAD, Derby, U.K.
- William Kentridge as Printmaker, University of Northumbria Gallery, Newcastle, U.K.
- William Kentridge: Poems I Used To Know, Volte Gallery, Mumbai, India
- William Kentridge: The Refusal of Time, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge: Second-hand Reading, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
2014
- Fortuna, Museo de Arte del Banco de la Republicá, Bogota, Colombia
- Fortuna, Museo Arte de Moderno de Medellín, Colombia
- William Kentridge: The Refusal of Time, The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge: The Refusal of Time, Parasophia, Kyoto Art Centre, Kyoto, Japan
- William Kentridge: The Refusal of Time, Perth International Arts Festival, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, Australia
- William Kentridge: The Refusal of Time, Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo, Finland
- Drawings: East Rand Proprietary Mines Cash Book, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
- William Kentridge: Tapestries, Wits Art Museum, Johannesburg, South Africa
2015
- Fortuna, Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporánio, Mexico City, Mexico
- Fortuna, Museo Amparo, Puebla, Mexico
- William Kentridge: If We Ever Get To Heaven, EYE Film Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- William Kentridge: The Nose, Haus Konstruktiv, Zurich, Switzerland
- Notes Towards a Model Opera, Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art, Beijing, China
- William Kentridge: The Refusal of Time, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
- William Kentridge: The Refusal of Time, Iziko National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa
- William Kentridge: More Sweetly Play the Dance, Marian Goodman Gallery, London, U.K.
- William Kentridge: Lulu, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
- All the World’s Futures, 56th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
- Double Vision: Albrecht Dürer / William Kentridge, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin, Germany
- 14th Istanbul Biennial, SALTWATER: A Theory of Thought Forms, Istanbul, Turkey
2016
- Peripheral Thinking, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, South Korea
- No It Is! , Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, Germany
- Thick Time, Whitechapel Gallery, London, U.K.
- William Kentridge: More Sweetly Play the Dance, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge: Notes Towards a Model Opera, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
- William Kentridge: Triumphs, Laments and Other Processions, Galleria Lia Rumma, Milan, Italy
- William Kentridge: Triumphs and Laments, MACRO, Rome, Italy
2017
- Thick Time, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark
- Basta y Sobra, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain
- Thick Time, Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, Austria
- That Which We Do Not Remember, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa
- William Kentridge. Smoke, Ashes, Fable, Sint-Janshospitaal, Bruges, Belgium
- William Kentridge: Universal Archive, Trout Gallery, University of Dickinson, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
- Processione di Riparazioniste, Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Turin, Italy
- Journey to the Moon, Hilliard Art Museum, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, U.S.A.
- O Sentimental Machine, Galerie Marian Goodman, Paris, France
2018
- O’ Sentimental Machine, Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung, Frankfurt, Germany
- Thick Time, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, U.K.
- William Kentridge: The Refusal of Time, Wexner Centre for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge: Universal Archive, Walsh Gallery, Fairfield University Museum, Fairfield, Connecticut, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge: Universal Archive, The Arthur Ross Gallery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, U.S.A.
- More Sweetly Play the Dance, Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
- Triumphs and Laments, Emerson Urban Arts, Media Art Gallery, Boston, U.S.A.
- That Which We Do Not Remember, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
2019
- That Which We Do Not Remember, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
- Why Should I Hesitate: Putting Drawings to Work, Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town, South Africa
- Why Should I Hesitate: Sculpture, Norval Foundation, Cape Town, South Africa
- A Poem I Used To Know, Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel Switzerland
- William Kentridge: Let Us Try for Once, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge: Ten Drawings for Projection, EYE Filmmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2020
- Un poème qui n’est pas le nôtre / A Poem I Used To Know, Lille Métropole Museum of Modern, Contemporary and Outsider Art, Lille, France
- That Which Is Not Drawn, Centre de Cultura de Contemporània de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Why Should I Hesitate: Putting Drawings to Work, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany
- Waiting for the Sibyl and Other Histories, Galleria Lia Rumma, Milan, Italy
- City Deep, Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg South Africa
- William Kentridge: Breathe, Chiesa di San Domenico, Alba, Italy
- More Sweetly Play the Dance, Antico Arsenale di Amalfi, Amalfi, Italy
2021
- More Sweetly Play the Dance, Mudam, Luxembourg
- William Kentridge: Universal Archive, University of Wyoming Art Museum, Laramie, U.S.A.
- William Kentridge: Tapestries, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, Australia
- William Kentridge: Making Prints, Selected Editions: 1998 – 2021, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
- Finally Memory Yields, Galerie Marian Goodman Gallery, Paris
2022
- William Kentridge: That Which We Do Not Remember, M. K. Čiurlionis Museum of Art , Kaunas, Lithuania
- Weigh All Tears, Hauser & Wirth, Hong Kong
- William Kentridge, Royal Academy of Arts, London
- In Praise of Shadows, Broad Foundation, Los Angeles
2023
- In Praise of Shadows, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
- Oh To Believe in Another World, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York
- You Whom I Could Not Save, Palazzo Branciforte, Palermo
- What Have They Done with All the Air, Goodman Gallery, Cape Town
2024
- Waiting to Forget Something, Galleria Lia Rumma, Naples
- Day Will Break More Than Once, Annandale Galleries, Sydney
- Self-Portrait as a Coffee Pot, Arsenale Institute for Politics of Representation, Venice
- William Kentridge, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei
- Je n’attends plus, Luma Foundation, Arles
- A Shadow of a Shadow, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah
-
+ Films
1975
Discourse on a Chair, 16mm animated film, transferred to video, 1 min 2 sec
1978
Title/Tale, collaboration with Stephen Sack and Jemima Hunt, 8 mm animated film, 2 min
1981
Howl at the Moon, video fiction, Co-directed with Hugo Cassirer, 40 min
1984
Salestalk, 16 mm film, transferred to video, 30 min
1986
Vetkoek / Fête Galante, 16 mm animated film, transferred to video, 2 min 41 sec
1987
Exhibition, 16 mm animated film, transferred to video, 3 min
1988
Freedom Square and Back of the Moon, documentary on Sophiatown for Channel 4, UK, Co-directed with Angus Gibson, 50 min
1989
Johannesburg, 2nd Greatest City After Paris, from Drawings for Projection series, 16 mm animated film, transferred to video, 3 min 11 sec, Edition of 10 + 2 APs
1990
- T&I, Super VHS, 12 min
- Monument, from Drawings for Projection series, 16 mm animated film, transferred to video, 3 min 11 sec, Edition of 10 + 2 APs
1991
- Mine, from Drawings for Projection series, 16 mm animated film, transferred to video, 5 min 50 sec, Edition of 10 + 2 APs
- Sobriety, Obesity and Growing Old, from Drawings for Projection series, 16 mm animated film, transferred to video, 8 min 22 sec, Edition of 10 + 2 APs
1992
Easing the Passing (of the hours), in collaboration with Deborah Bell and Robert Hodgins, Digital animation, transferred to video, 10 min 38 sec
1994
Memo, in collaboration with Deborah Bell and Robert Hodgins, 35 mm film, transferred to video, 3 min, Edition of 6 + 1 AP
Felix in Exile, from Drawings for Projection series, 35 mm animated film, transferred to video, 8 min 43 sec, Edition of 10 + 2 APs
1996
History of the Main Complaint, from Drawings for Projection series, 35 mm animated film, transferred to video, 5 min 50 sec, Edition of 10 + 2 APs
1996-97
Ubu Tells the Truth, 35 mm animated film, transferred to video, 8 min, Edition of
4 + 2 APs
1997
Weighing… & Wanting, from Drawings for Projection series, 35 mm animated film, transferred to video, 6 min 20 sec, Edition of 4 + 2 APs
1998
- Hotel, in collaboration with Deborah Bell and Robert Hodgins, 35 mm film, transferred to video, 6 min
- Ulisse: Echo (Scan, Slide, Bottle), 35 mm animated film triptych, transferred to video,
Scan: 2 min; Slide: 8 min and Bottle: 6 min, Edition of 4 + 1 AP
1999
- Stereoscope, from Drawings for Projection series, 35 mm film, transferred to video, 8 min 22 sec, Edition of 6 + 2 APs
- Sleeping on Glass, 35mm animated film transferred to video, projected onto a dresser, 8 min 11 sec, Edition of 3 + 2 APs
- Shadow Procession, 35 mm animated film, transferred to video, 7 min, Edition of 6 + 2 APs
- Overvloed, 35 mm animated film, transferred to video, 6 min, Edition of 1 + 1 AP
2001
Medicine Chest, 35mm film transferred to video, projected within a medicine cabinet, 5 min 50 sec, Edition of 8 + 3 APs
2002
Zeno Writing, 35 mm animated film, transferred to video, 12 min, Edition of 8 +
2 APs
2003
- Automatic Writing, 35 mm animated film, transferred to video, 3 min 40 sec
- Learning the Flute, 35 mm animated film, transferred to video, projected onto blackboard, 8 min 2 sec, Edition of 8 + 2 APs
- Journey to the Moon, 16 mm and 35 mm animated film, transferred to video, 7 min 10 sec, Edition of 8 + 2 APs
- 7 Fragments for Georges Méliès, Day for Night & Journey to the Moon, Nine channel film installation. 35mm film, including live-action film and animated drawing, transferred to video. Invisible Mending: 1 min 30 sec; Balancing Act: 1 min 20 sec; Tabula Rasa I: 2 min 50 sec; Tabula Rasa II: 2 min 10 sec; Moveable Assets: 2 min 40 sec; Auto Didact: 5 min 10 sec; Feats of Prestidigitation: 1 min 50 sec; Day for Night: 7 min
Edition of 8 + 2 APs
2003-04
- Tide Table, from Drawings for Projection series, 35 mm animated film, transferred to video, 8 min 50 sec, Edition of 8 + 2 APs
2005
- Preparing the Flute, Animated 35 mm film transferred to video, projected front and back onto model theatre with drawings, 21 min 6 sec, Edition of 3 + 2 APs
- Black Box / Chambre Noire, 35 mm animated film, transferred to video, projected front and back onto model theatre with drawings and mechanical puppets, Edition of 1 + 1 AP
2007
- What Will Come (has already come), 35mm film transferred video, anamorphic projection onto tabletop with polished steel cylinder, 8 min 40 sec, Edition of 14 + 2 APs
2008
- I am not me, the horse is not mine, Eight channel film installation, DVCam, HDV transferred to video, 6 min, Edition of 11 + 3 APs
- Breathe, Dissolve, Return, HD and DVcam transferred to video, 6 min, Edition of 9 + 2 APs
2010
Carnets d’Egypte (Salle 26), cycle twelve single channel films, HD video – Fanfare: 1 min 29 sec; Chorus: 2 min 14 sec; Excavate: 13 min 13 sec; Nubian Landscape: 2 min 42 sec; Catalogue: 5 min 27 sec; 4.2.3: 1 min 21 sec; Acquire: 4 min 34 sec; Shards: 3 min 55 sec; Scribe: 6 min 9 sec; Plagues: 3 min 25 sec; Sight Reading: 1 min 37 sec; Isis Tragedie: 6 min 5 sec
Carnets d’Egypte (les livres) , cycle of four single channel films, HD video – Intoxicating Liquor Cash Sales Book: 1 min 31 sec; East Rand Proprietary Mines Ltd, Central Administration: 11 min 27 sec; L’Exploration du Sahara: 50 sec; Merveilles de la Science: 4 min 34 sec
2011
- Anti-Mercator, HD video, 9 min 53 sec, Edition of 7 + 2 APs
- Other Faces, from Drawings for Projection series, 35 mm transferred to HD video, 9 min 36 sec, Edition of 12 + 3 APs
2012
- The Refusal of Time, Five channel HD film installation with megaphones and breathing machine, 30 min, Edition of 6 + 1 AP
- No, It Is, Three channel HD film, 2012, Workshop Receipts: 3 min 17 sec; The Anatomy of Melancholy: 2 min 21 sec; Practical Enquiries: 2 min 19 sec, Edition of 9 + 3 APs
- Sonnets, HD film, 3 min 38 sec, Edition of 9 + 3 APs
2013
- Carnets d’Egypte, Single channel HD film in seven fragments, Fanfare: 1 min 30 sec; Nubian Landscape: 2 min 42 sec; Archaeology: 10 min 21 sec; Scribe: 6 min 9 sec; Shards: 3 min 55 sec; Isis Tragedie 6 min 5 sec; Plagues: 3 min 25 sec, Edition of 9 + 3 APs
- Tango for Page Turning, HD film, 2 min 47 sec, Edition of 9 + 3 APs
- Second-hand Reading, HD film, 7 min, Edition of 9 + 3 APs
2015
- Notes Towards a Model Opera, Three channel HD film installation, 11 min 14 sec, Edition of 9 + 3 APs
- O Sentimental Machine, Five channel HD film installation, four megaphones with speakers, 15 min, Edition of 9 + 3 APs
- More Sweetly Play the Dance, Eight channel HD film installation, four megaphones with speakers, 15 min, Edition of 9 + 3 APs
2016
- Right Into Her Arms, Kinetic model theatre with HD film, 11 min, Edition of 4 + 1 AP
- Soft Dictionary, HD film, 2 min 44 sec, Edition of 9 + 1 AP
2017
Love Songs from the Last Century, HD 360° virtual reality film, 3 min 53 sec, Edition of 6 +2 APs
2017-18
KABOOM!, Three channel HD film installation. Model stage, paper props, found objects and three mini-projectors with stands, 18 min 38 sec, Edition of 4 + 1 AP
2018
Ursonate, Dual channel HD film, 33 min 54 sec, Edition of 4 + 2 APs
2019
- Day Will Break More Than Once, HD 360° virtual reality film, 6 min 10 sec, Edition of 6 +
2 APs - Sibyl, HD film, 9 min 59 sec, Edition of 9 + 3 APs
- Work in Progress (The Mouth Is Dreaming) / Work in Progress (The Moment Has Gone), Dual channel HD film, 7 min, Edition of 1 + 1 AP
2020
City Deep, from Drawings for Projection series, HD film, 9 min 41 sec, Edition of 9 + 3 APs
2022
Oh to Believe in Another World, HD film, projected during the live performance of Shostakovich’s 10th Symphony, approx 55 min
- Oh to Believe in Another World, Five channel HD film installation, 15 min 42 sec
2023
You Whom I Could Not Save, HD film, 7 min 23 sec
2024
We Will Make Shoes from the Sky, Site-specific film installation for Moynihan Train Hall, New York, 30 seconds
- To Cross One More Sea, three channel film installation with scenography, 19 min 10 sec
Self-Portrait as a Coffee Pot, a nine episode series
Episode 1: A Natural History of the Studio, 2022, HD Video, 22 min 03 secEpisode 2: Self Portrait as a Coffee Pot, 2022, HD Video, 33 min 15 secEpisode 3: Vanishing Points, 2022, HD Video, 34 min 19 secEpisode 4: Finding One’s Fate, 2022, HD Video, 31 min 02 secEpisode 5: As If, 2022, HD Video, 27 min 29 secEpisode 6: A Harvest of Devotion, 2022, HD Video, 31 min 24 secEpisode 7: Metamorphosis, 2022, HD Video, 25 min 31 secEpisode 8: Oh To Believe in Another World, 2022, HD Video, 31 min 23 secEpisode 9: In Defence of Optimism, 2022, HD Video, 26 min 53 sec
-
+ Lectures
1986
Art in a State of Siege, Standard Bank National Festival, Grahamstown, South Africa
1993
Fortuna: Neither Programme nor Chance in the Making of Images, lecture transcript published in Cycnos: Image et Langage, Problèmes, Approches, Méthodes. Nice, v.11, n.1, 1994, pp. 163-168. Published again in Christov-Bakargiev, Carolyn. William Kentridge. Brussels: Palais des Beaux Arts, 1998, pp. 61, 64, 65, 67-69.
1998
Tonight…. We Perform, lecture transcript published in Puck magazine, France, 1998, no.11
2001
In Praise of Shadows, lecture transcript. Published in Tone, Lilian (ed.). 2013. William Kentridge: Fortuna. London: Thames & Hudson, pp. 307-309.
2003
Three Lectures on Process, series of three lectures given at WiSER (Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, August 2003
2005
Black Box: Between the Lens and the Eyepiece, Guggenheim Museum, New York, May 2005
2008
I am not me, the horse is not mine, lecture / performance with projections. Premieres at the Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, December 2008. Tours to MoMA, New York; Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art; Festival Bo:m, Seoul; Theater der Welt, Mulheim; Galleria Lia Rumma, Milan; The Garage, Moscow; and iDANS Festival, Istanbul.
2010
- I am not me, the horse is not mine, lecture / performance with projections. Premieres at the Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, December 2008. Tours to MoMA, New York; Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art; Festival Bo:m, Seoul; Theater der Welt, Mulheim; Galleria Lia Rumma, Milan; The Garage, Moscow; and iDANS Festival, Istanbul.Great Texts, Big Questions, GIPCA, University of Cape Town, South Africa, April 2010.
- Meeting the World Halfway: A Johannesburg Biography, Kyoto Prize Commemorative Lecture: Arts & Philosophy, Kyoto, Japan. On occasion of receiving the Kyoto Prize: Arts & Philosophy, November 2010.
2012
Six Drawing Lessons, a series of six lectures, for the Norton Professorship of Poetry, Harvard University, Cambridge MA. Presented again in 2013 at the Johannesburg Workshop in Theory and Criticism, University of the Witwatersrand; in 2014 at SchauSpielHaus, Hamburg; and in 2016 at Foreign Affairs: International Performing Arts Festival, Berlin.
2013
- Thinking on one’s feet: A walking tour of the studio, lecture as part of the Humanitas 2013 Visiting Professorship in Contemporary Art, Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, England. Published as William Kentridge, Thinking on one’s feet: A walking tour of the studio. 2013. Madrid: Ivorypress.
- Listening to the Image, at the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society, University of Chicago, October 2013
- Everyone Their Own Projector, lecture as Distinguished Visitor in the Humanities, University of Rochester NY, September 2013
2014
A Dream of Love Reciprocated: History & the Image, lecture as part of the Mosse Lecture series, Humboldt University, Berlin, February 2014
2015
- Peripheral Thinking, lecture given at the Design Indaba 2015, Cape Town, February 2015. Tours to MUAC, Mexico City; Europalia Festival, Brussels; Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing; Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong; and Yale University, New Haven.
- O Sentimental Machine, lecture as the 2015–16 Belknap Visitor in the Humanities, Princeton University, New York, October 2015
2017
- A Defence of the Less Good Idea, Sigmund Freud Lecture given at the Sigmund Freud Museum, Vienna, Austria, May 2017. Published in German translation as William Kentridge: In Verteidigung der weniger guten Idee (Sigmund Freud Vorlesung 2017), 2018.
- Enough and More Than Enough, lecture / performance with Maricel Alvarez, Oviedo, Spain. On occasion of receiving the Princesa d’Asturias Award for the Arts, October 2017.
2018
- Let Us Try for Once: 15 ½ Thoughts in the Library, lecture as part of the Message from the Library series at the Brooklyn Public Library, 9 December 2018. Published as Message from the Library No.3: William Kentridge. New York: Brooklyn Public Library.
2020
- The Moment Has Gone, Susan T. Marx Distinguished Lecture at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, October 2020, delivered online.
2022
- Words, Ah Yes, Words: Text and Image, The Rothschild Foundation Lecture, Benjamin West Lecture Theatre, Royal Academy of Arts, London
- Finding the Less Good Idea, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee
- To What End?, Barbro Osher Theater, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley
2023
- Finding the Less Good Idea, Granoff Center for the Creative Arts, Brown University, Providence
2024
- A Natural History of the Studio, Slade Lecture Series, Six lectures delivered as Slade Professor of Fine Art for 2023/24, University of Oxford, Oxford
-
+ Performances
1992
WOYZECK ON THE HIGHVELD
Theatre production with actors, puppets and projection
Duration: 1 hr 14 min
Music: Steve Cooks, Edward Jordan
Writer: Georg Büchner (adapted from the unfinished play, “Woyzeck”, 1837)
Director: William Kentridge
Co-creator: Handspring Puppet Company
Animation: William Kentridge
Assistant animator: Erica Elk
Set designers: Adrian Kohler, William Kentridge
Costume designer: Hazel Maree
Puppet designer: Adrian Kohler
Puppet makers: Adrian Kohler, Francois Viljoen and Erica Elk
Lighting designer: Mannie Manim
Sound designer: Wilbert Schübel
Video editor: Thabo Nel
Musicians: Clara Hooyberg (Cello)
Performers: Louis Seboko, Busi Zokufa, Tale Motsepe, Basil Jones, Adrian Kohler
Producers: Handspring Puppet Company with The Standard Bank National Arts Festival, the Johannesburg City Council, the Foundation for the Creative Arts, the German Embassy, the Department of National Education and Art Bureau (Munich)
Premiere: National Arts Festival, Graeme College, Grahamstown, South Africa, 9 July 1992
1995
FAUSTUS IN AFRICA!
Theatre production with actors, puppets and projection
Duration: 2 hr 20 min
Music: James Phillips, Warrick Sony
Writer: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (adapted from the play “Faust”, 1829) and Lesego Rampolekeng (additional text)
Director: William Kentridge
Co-creator: Handspring Puppet Company
Animation: William Kentridge
Assistant animator: Hiltrud von Seydlitz
Set designers: Adrian Kohler, William Kentridge
Costume designer: Hazel Maree, Hiltrud von Seydlitz
Puppet designer: Adrian Kohler
Puppet makers: Adrian Kohler, Tau Qwelane
Lighting designer: Mannie Manim
Sound designer: Wilbert Schübel
Performers: Dawid Minnaar, Leslie Fong, Busi Zokufa, Louis Seboko, Antoinette Kellermann, Basil Jones, Adrian Kohler
Producers: Handspring Puppet Company in association with The Market Theatre (Johannesburg), Art Bureau (Munich), Kunstfest (Weimar), the Standard Bank National Arts Festival, The Foundation for the Creative Arts, and Mannie Manim Productions
Premiere: Kunstfest Weimar, Reithalle, Weimar, Germany, 22 June 1995
1997
UBU AND THE TRUTH COMMISSION
Theatre production with actors, puppets and projection
Duration: 1 hr 30 min
Music: Warrick Sony, Brendan Jury
Writer: Jane Taylor
Director: William Kentridge
Co-creator: Handspring Puppet Company
Animation: William Kentridge
Assistant animator: Tau Qwelane, Suzie Gabie
Set designers: Adrian Kohler, William Kentridge
Costume designer: Adrian Kohler, Sue Steele
Puppet designer: Adrian Kohler
Puppet makers: Adrian Kohler, Tau Qwelane
Lighting designer: Wesley France
Sound designer: Wilbert Schübel
Video editor: Catherine Meyburgh
Choreographer: Robin Orlin
Research: Antjie Krog
Performers: Dawid Minnaar, Busi Zokufa, Basil Jones, Adrian Kohler, Louis Seboko
Producers: Handspring Puppet Company with Art Bureau (Munich), Kunstfest (Weimar), Migros Kulturprozent (Switzerland), Niedersächsisches Staatstheater Hannover, The Standard Bank National Arts Festival (Grahamstown), the South African Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology and the Market Theatre Foundation (Johannesburg)
Premiere: Kunstfest Weimar, E-Werk, Weimar, Germany, 17 June 1997
1998
IL RITORNO D’ULISSE
Chamber opera with singers, actors, puppets and projection
Duration: 1 hr 30 min
Composer: Claudio Monteverdi
Libretto: Giacomo Badaoro
Director: William Kentridge
Co-director: Luc De Wit
Co-creator: Handspring Puppet Company
Musical director: Philippe Pierlot
Animation: William Kentridge
Assistant animators: Anne McIlleron, Nina Gebauer
Set designers: Adrian Kohler, William Kentridge
Costume designers: Adrian Kohler, Sue Steele
Puppet designer: Adrian Kohler
Puppet makers: Adrian Kohler, Tau Qwelane, Nina Gebauer
Research: Gail Behrmann
Musicians: Ensemble Ricercar: Philippe Pierlot (treble violin, bass violin), Vincent Dumestre (Theorbol Guitar), Sophie Watillon (treble violin, bass violin), Paulina van Laarhoven (lirone, bass violin), David Sinclaire (violone), Marion Fourquier (triple harp)
Performers: Adrian Kohler, Basil Jones, Louis Seboko, Busi Zokufa, Tau Qwelane; Singers: Scot Weir, Guillemette Laurens,Wilke Te Brummelstroete, Vincent Pavesi, Margarida Natividade, Peter Evans, Stephen van Dyck
Producers: Standard Bank National Arts Festival (Grahamstown), the State Theatre (Pretoria), Mannie Manim Productions, the Flemish government, Wiener Festwochen (Vienna) and Kunsten Festival des Arts (Brussels)
Premiere: Kunsten Festival des Arts, Luna Theater, Brussels, 9 May 1998
2001
ZENO AT 4AM
Theatre production with actors, puppets and projection
Duration: 35 min
Music: Kevin Volans
Libretto: Jane Taylor (based on Italo Svevo’s novel “Confessions of Zeno”, 1923)
Director: William Kentridge
Co-creator: Handspring Puppet Company
Animation: William Kentridge
Set designers: Adrian Kohler, William Kentridge
Puppet designer: Adrian Kohler, William Kentridge
Sound designer: Simon Mahoney
Musicians: The Duke Quartet
Performers: Dawid Minnaar, Otto Maidi, Adrian Kohler, Basil Jones, Fourie Nyamande, Tau Qwelane and Busi Zokufa
Producers: Handspring Puppet Company, Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (New York), Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Marian Goodman Gallery (New York), Art Bureau (Munich)
Premiere: Kunsten Festival des Arts, Brussels, 18 May 2001
2002
CONFESSIONS OF ZENO
Theatre production with actors, puppets and projection
Duration: 1 hr 15 min
Music: Kevin Volans
Writer: Jane Taylor (based on Italo Svevo’s novel “Confessions of Zeno”, 1923)
Director: William Kentridge
Co-creator: Handspring Puppet Company
Animation: William Kentridge
Set designers: Adrian Kohler
Costume designer: Adrian Kohler, Mathilda Engelbrecht
Puppet designer: Adrian Kohler, William Kentridge
Lighting designer: Wesley France
Sound designer: Simon Mahoney
Research: Gail Behrmann
Musicians: The Sontonga Quartet
Performers: Dawid Minnaar, Otto Maidi, Lwazi Ncube, Pumeza Matshikiza, Adrian Kohler, Basil Jones, Fourie Nyamande, Tau Qwelane and Busi Zokufa
Producers: Handspring Puppet Company, Art Bureau (Munich) and Schauspiel Frankfurt (Germany), Kunsten Festival des Arts (Brussels), Documenta XI (Kassel)
Premiere: Kunsten Festival des Arts, Kaaitheater, Brussels, 14 May 2002
2005
THE MAGIC FLUTE
Opera in two acts
Duration: 2 hr 45 min
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto: Emanuel Schikaneder
Director: William Kentridge
Co-director: Luc De Wit
Animation: William Kentridge
Set designer: Sabine Theunissen
Costume designer: Greta Goiris
Lighting designer: Jennifer Tipton
Video orchestrator: Kim Gunning
Video editor: Catherine Meyburgh
Producer: Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels
Premiere: Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels, 26 April 2005
2008
I AM NOT ME, THE HORSE IS NOT MINE
Lecture/performance with projection
Duration: 45 min
Music: Philip Miller (Galop), Richard Siluma (Ngilahlekelelwe Ikhala Lami)
Libretto: Thulani Manana (Ngilahlekelelwe Ikhala Lami)
Director: William Kentridge
Stage director: Sue Pam-Grant
Animation: William Kentridge
Assistant animators: Gerhard Marx, Naomi van Niekerk, Catherine Walker
Musicians: Dan Selsick (trombone), Billy Middleton (tuba), Adam Howard (trumpet), Ntkozo Zunga and Castrol (tin-can guitars), Bethuel Mbonani (percussion), Thulani Manaka (vocal leader)
Performers: William Kentridge, Thulani Manana and Abanikazi Bomkhalanga (choir), Thato Motlhaolwa (dancing figure)
Premiere: Sydney Biennale, Cockatoo Island, Sydney, 18 June 2008
2010
THE NOSE
Opera in three acts
Duration: 2 hrs
Composer: Dmitri Shostakovich
Libretto: Dmitri Shostakovich, Yevgeny Zamyatin, Gregory Ionin, Alexander Preis
Director: William Kentridge
Co-director: Luc De Wit
Conductor: Valery Gergiev, Pavel Smelkov
Animation: William Kentridge
Set designer: Sabine Theunissen
Costume designer: Greta Goiris
Lighting designer: Urs Schönebaum
Projection designer: Catherine Meyburgh
Producer: Metropolitan Opera, New York
Premiere: Metropolitan Opera, New York, 26 February 2010
2010
TELEGRAMS FROM THE NOSE
Musical performance with projection
Duration: 30 min
Music: François Sarhan
Writer: Daniil Harms (text fragments)
Director: William Kentridge
Conductor: Georges-Elie Octors
Animation: William Kentridge
Sound designer: Alexandre Fostier
Musicians: Igor Semenoff (stroh-violin), François Deppe (stroh-cello, voice), Tom Pauwels (stroh-guitar), Jean-Luc Plouvier (keyboard), Matthieu Metzger (other instruments)
Performers: Ictus & François Sarhan
Premiere: Kaaitheater, Brussels, 3 April 2009
2011
REFUSE THE HOUR
Chamber opera, fragmented lecture, kinetic sculptures and projection
Duration: 1 hr 20 min
Music: Philip Miller
Libretto: William Kentridge
Dramaturgy: Peter Galison
Director: William Kentridge
Co-director: Luc De Wit
Musical director: Adam Howard
Conductor: Adam Howard
Machine design: Christoff Wolmarans, Louis Olivier and Jonas Lundquist
Animation: William Kentridge
Set designer: Sabine Theunissen
Costume designer: Greta Goiris
Lighting designer: Felice Ross
Sound designer: Gavan Eckhart
Video orchestrator: Kim Gunning
Choreographer: Dada Masilo
Musicians: Adam Howard (trumpet, flugel horn), Tlale Makhene (percussion), Waldo Alexander (violin), Dan Selsick (trombone), Vincenzo Pasquariello (piano), Thobeka Thukane (tuba)
Performers: William Kentridge, Dada Masilo, Ann Masina, Joanna Dudley, Thato Motlhaolwa
Producers: Documenta 13 (Kassel), Marian Goodman Gallery, Galleria Lia Rumma and Goodman Gallery
Executive producers: The Office Arts, toured in association with Quaternaire
Premiere: Market Theatre, Johannesburg, 15 September 2011
2014
PAPER MUSIC
Song cycle for voice and piano with projection
Duration: 60 min
Music: Philip Miller
Director: William Kentridge
Animation: William Kentridge
Costume designer: Greta Goiris
Musicians: Vincenzo Pasquariello (piano)
Performers: Ann Masina, Joanna Dudley
Executive producers: The Office Arts, toured in association with Quaternaire
Premiere: FLAME (Florence Music Art Ensemble), Bargello Museum, Florence, 11 September 2011
2014
WINTERREISE
Song cycle for voice and piano with projection
Duration: 1 hr 15 min
Music: Franz Schubert
Writer: Wilhelm Müller
Director: William Kentridge
Animation: William Kentridge
Set designer: Sabine Theunissen
Costume designer: Greta Goiris
Lighting designer: Hermann Sorgeloos
Video orchestrator: Kim Gunning
Video designer: Žana Marović
Musician: Markus Hinterhaüser (piano)
Performer: Matthias Goerne (baritone)
Producers: Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Wiener Festwochen, Holland Festival, Lincoln Center, Opéra de Lille, Kunstfestspiele Herrenhausen / Niedersächsische Musiktage (Hannover), Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg
Executive producers: Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, toured in association with Quaternaire
Premiere: Wiener Festwochen, Vienna, 9 June 2014
2015
LULU
Opera in three acts
Duration: 3 hr 22 min
Composer: Alban Berg
Libretto: Frank Wedekind
Director: William Kentridge
Co-director: Luc De Wit
Conductor: Valery Gergiev, Pavel Smelkov
Animation: William Kentridge
Set designer: Sabine Theunissen
Costume designer: Greta Goiris
Lighting designer: Urs Schönebaum
Projection designer: Catherine Meyburgh
Producer: The Metropolitan Opera, New York, Dutch National Opera, Amsterdam and English National Opera, London
Premiere: Dutch National Opera, Amsterdam, 1 June 2015
2016
TRIUMPHS AND LAMENTS
Shadow procession with two marching bands
Duration: 32 min
Music: Philip Miller
Libretto: William Kentridge
Director: William Kentridge
Musical director: Thuthuka Sibisi
Conductor: Valery Gergiev, Pavel Smelkov
Animation: William Kentridge
Scenic Designer: Tiziano Fario
Sound designer: David Monacchi
Video orchestrator: Kim Gunning
Performers: Joanna Dudley, Lavinia Mancusi, Ann Masina, Bham Ntabeni, Patrizia Rotonda
Producer: Tevereterno, Marian Goodman Gallery, Galleria Lia Rumma and Goodman Gallery
Executive producer: The Office performing arts + film
Premiere: Piazza Tevere, Tiber River, Rome, 21 April 2016
2016
A GUIDED TOUR OF THE EXHIBTION: FOR SOPRANO WITH HANDBAG
Performance with projection
Duration: 40 min
Libretto: William Kentridge, Joanna Dudley
Director: William Kentridge
Co-creator: Joanna Dudley
Costume designer: Greta Goiris
Video editor: Žana Marović
Choreographer: Joanna Dudley
Performer: Joanna Dudley
Producers: Berliner Festspiele / Foreign Affairs, Martin Gropius Bau, The Office performing arts + film
Executive producers: Quaternaire
Premiere: Berliner Festspiele, Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin, 20 May 2016
2017
WOZZECK
Opera in one act
Duration: 1 hr 40 min
Composer: Alban Berg
Libretto: Alban Berg
Director: William Kentridge
Co-director: Luc De Wit
Animation: William Kentridge
Set designer: Sabine Theunissen
Costume designer: Greta Goiris
Lighting designer: Urs Schönebaum
Projection designer: Catherine Meyburgh
Producer: Salzburger Festspiele, Metropolitan Opera, New York, Opera Australia, Sydney
Premiere: Salzburger Festspiele, Salzburg, 8 August 2017
2017
URSONATE
Performance with projection
Duration: 40 min
Libretto: Kurt Schwitters
Director: William Kentridge
Animation: William Kentridge
Set designer: Sabine Theunissen
Projection designer: Janus Fouché
Video orchestrator: Janus Fouché, Žana Marović
Video editor: Janus Fouché
Performer: William Kentridge
Producer: Performa, New York
Executive producer: The Office Arts, toured in association with Quaternaire
Premiere: Performa, St Thomas the Apostle Church, Harlem, New York, 5 November 2017
2018
THE HEAD & THE LOAD
Processional opera in one act
Duration: 1 hr 25 min
Music: Philip Miller, Thuthuka Sibisi
Libretto: William Kentridge
Director: William Kentridge
Co-director: Luc De Wit
Musical director: Thuthuka Sibisi
Orchestration: Michael Atkinson, Philip Miller
Animation: William Kentridge
Set designer: Sabine Theunissen
Costume designer: Greta Goiris
Lighting designer: Urs Schönebaum, Georg Veit
Projection designer:Catherine Meyburgh
Sound designer: Mark Grey
Cinematographer: Duško Marović
Video orchestrator: Kim Gunning
Video editors: Janus Fouché, Žana Marović, Catherine Meyburgh
Choreographer: Gregory Maqoma
Producers: 14-18 NOW: WW1 Centenary Commissions, Park Avenue Armory, Ruhrtriennale, Yale Schwarzman Center and MASS MoCA, Holland Festival, Goodman Gallery, Marian Goodman Gallery and Galleria Lia Rumma
Executive producer: The Office Arts, toured in association with Quaternaire
Premiere: Turbine Hall, Tate Modern, London, 11 July 2018
2019
WAITING FOR THE SIBYL
Chamber opera in one act
Duration: 42 min
Music: Nhlanhla Mahlangu
Libretto: William Kentridge
Director: William Kentridge
Co-director:Nhlanhla Mahlangu
Musical director: Kyle Shepherd
Animation: William Kentridge
Set designer: Sabine Theunissen
Costume designer: Greta Goiris
Lighting designer: Urs Schönebaum
Projection designer: Žana Marović
Cinematographer: Duško Marović
Video editors: Žana Marović
Musicians: Kyle Shepherd (Piano)
Performers: Nhlanhla Mahlangu (vocalist, dancer), Xolisile Bongwana (vocalist, dancer), Thulani Chauke (dancer), Teresa Phuti Mojela (dancer), Thandazile ‘Sonia’ Rabede (dancer), Ayanda Nhlangothi (vocalist), Zandile Hlatshwayo (vocalist), Siphiwe Nkabinde (vocalist), S’busiso Shozi (vocalist)
Producers: Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg and Dramaten, Stockholm
Executive producer: The Office Arts, toured in association with Quaternaire
Premiere: Teatro Dell’Opera di Roma, Rome, 11 September 2019
2022
OH TO BELIEVE IN ANOTHER WORLD
A film to accompany Shostakovich Symphony No. 10
Duration: 55 min approx.
Director: William Kentridge
Editors: Janus Fouché, Žana Marović
Costume & Puppet Designer: Greta Goiris
Set and Model Designer: Sabine Theunissen
Cinematographer: Duško Marović, SASC
Video Control: Kim Gunning
Featured performers: Andrea Fabi, Luc De Wit, Teresa Phuti Mojela, Thulani Chauke, Phuphuma Love Minus (Isicathamiya chorus)
Assistant Director of Chorus: Nhlanhla Mahlangu
Assistant Model Makers: Damon Garstang, Claire Zinn
Costume & Puppet Makers: Emmanuelle Erhart, Judith Stokart
Assistant Puppet Maker: Diego Sillands
Assistant Editor: Joshua Trappler
Assistant Compositor: Octavia Sonyane
Compositing: Mushroom Media (Luaan Hong, Jannes Hendrikz, Novak Miler, Sarah Kwan)
Studio Director: Anne McIlleron
Administration: Linda Leibowitz
Coordination: Natalie Dembo
Production: Taryn Buccellato
Workshop Assistants: Chloe Noto, Joey Netshiambo, Joy Woolcott, Nomonde Qhina, Thandi Mzizi, Travis MacDougall
Additional Camera: Chris – Waldo de Wet, Jacques van der Merwe
Project Initiator: Numa Bischof Ullmann
Executive producer: The Office Performing Arts + Film
Special thanks to: Dewald Aukema, Gavan Eckhart, Matt Gardner
“Oh, to Believe in Another World” was commissioned by the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester and was made possible through a grant of the Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne.
Premiere: KKL Luzern, 15 June 2022
2024
THE GREAT YES, THE GREAT NO
Chamber opera in one act
Duration: 1 hr 40 min
Concept | Director: William Kentridge
Associate Directors: Nhlanhla Mahlangu | Phala O. Phala
Choral Composer: Nhlanhla Mahlangu
Music Director: Tlale Makhene
Dramaturg: Mwenya Kabwe
Costume Design: Greta Goiris
Set Design: Sabine Theunissen
Lighting Design: Urs Schönebaum | Elena Gui
Projection Editing | Compositing: Žana Marović | Janus Fouché | Joshua Trappler
Cinematography: Duško Marović
Video Control: Kim Gunning
Performed and created by
Performers: Xolisile Bongwana, Hamilton Dhlamini, William Harding, Tony Miyambo, Nancy Nkusi, Luc de Wit
Dancers: Thulani Chauke & Teresa Phuti Mojela
Chorus: Anathi Conjwa, Asanda Hanabe, Zandile Hlatshwayo, Khokho Madlala, Nokuthula Magubane, Mapule Moloi,Nomathamsanqa Ngoma
Musicians: Marika Hughes (Cello), Nathan Koci (Accordion | Banjo), Tlale Makhene (Percussion), Thandi Ntuli (Piano)
Produced by
THE OFFICE performing arts + film
A project of the Centre for the Less Good Idea
Lead commissioner
LUMA Foundation, Arles, France
Co-Commissioners
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami USA; CAL Performances, Berkeley USA; Centre d’Art Battat, Montreal Canada.
Foundational commissioning support for the development and creation of “The Great Yes, The Great No” provided by Brown Arts Institute at Brown University.
Toured in partnership Quaternaire
Premiere: Luma Foundation, Arles, 7 July 2024
-
+ Awards & Merits
1985
Blue Ribbon Award, American Film Festival, New York
1986
- The AA Vita Award, Johannesburg
- The Market Theatre Award, Johannesburg
1987
Standard Bank Young Artist Award (Fine Art category), Johannesburg
1988
- The AA Vita Award, Johannesburg
1988
- The AA Vita Award, Johannesburg
1991
Rembrandt Gold Medal, Cape Town Triennial
1999
53rd Carnegie Prize, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh
2003
- 6th Sharjah Biennial Prize, United Arab Emirates
- Kaissering Prize, Mönchehaus Museum fur Moderne Kunst, Goslar
2004
- Doctor of Literature Honoris Causa, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
2005
- Max-Beckmann-Stiftungsprofessor, Staatlichen Hochschule für Bildende Künste – Städelschule, Frankfurt/Main
2006
Jesse L. Rosenberger Medal (includes Kovler Fellowship), University of Chicago
2007
Order of Ikhamanga (Silver), National Orders, Pretoria
2008
Doctor of Fine Art Honoris Causa, Rhodes University, Grahamstown
- Oskar Kokoschka Award, Vienna
2010
Kyoto Prize for contributions in the field of Arts and Philosophy, Inamori Foundation, Kyoto
- Honorary Doctorate, Royal College of Art, London
2011
- Honorary Member, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York
- MASSART President’s Award for Creative Achievement, Boston
- Southern Graphics Council International Award for Lifetime Achievement in Printing, Saint Louis
International Art Critics Association Award (for the performance of I am not me, the horse is not mine in conjunction with ‘Performa’), New York
Doctor of Literature Honoris Causa, London University
2012
- Member of the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia
- Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Cambridge
Member of the Académie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres, et des Beaux-arts de Belgique, Brussels
Commandeur dans l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres, France
- Laureate of the Dan David Prize (for the Present Time Dimension in the Field of Plastic Arts), Tel Aviv University
- Invited to deliver Charles Eliot Norton Lectures, Harvard University, Cambridge
2013
- Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts, Yale University
- Distinguished Visiting Humanist, University of Rochester, New York
- Humanitas Visiting Professorship in Contemporary Art, Universities of Oxford and Cambridge
2014
Doctor of Literature Honoris Causa, University of Cape Town
2015
Honorary Academician of the Royal Academy of Arts, London
Association Internationale du Film d’Animation Prize, Krakow
- Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2017
- Princesa de Asturias Award for the Arts, Princess of Asturias Foundation, Oviedo, Spain
2018
- Antonio Feltrinelli International Prize, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome
- Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts, University of Pretoria
2019
- Praemium Imperiale, Japan Art Association, Tokyo
- Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (for Exceptional Accomplishments in the Field of Theatrical Motion Pictures), Los Angeles
2021
- Foreign Associate Member to the French Académie des Beaux Arts, Paris
- Doctor Honoris Causa, conferred jointly by Vrije Universiteit Brussel, University of the Western Cape and Ghent University
- Ruth Baumgarte Art Prize, Hanover
2022
- Doctor of Humane Letters, Columbia University, New York
- Laurea Honoris Causa, Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo
- Honour of the Order of the Star of Italy, Rome
- Queen Sonja Lifetime Achievement Award (Printmaking), Oslo
2023
- Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera for Sibyl, London
2024
- International Folkwang Prize, Folkwang-Museumsverein, Essen
