William Kentridge: 10 works

'The odd juxtaposition between love and death, between affection and violence, and between text and image, resurfaces throughout Kentridge's work.'

'Another centerpiece of the exhibition is William Kentridge's "Soho Eckstein" cycle, a series of hand-drawn animations that helped establish his presence in the 1980s and 90s. Set against a backdrop of the harsh realities of the private mining industry in modern-day Johannesburg, the films recount the love triangle between the business titan Soho, his wife, and the lowly,daydreaming Felix Teitlebaum--a stand-in for the artist himself.'

'Here Kentridge's notion of "provisionality" is embodied not only in the film's metamorphosing figures, but also in the artist's process of production, as marks of erasure gradually build up over the scene.'

'"Procession" is a repeated motif in Kentridge's work.'

'William Kentridge, What Will Come (Has Already Come), 2007.'

'This interest in the delusions inherent to idealism is also found in his I am not me, the horse is not mine (2008), a project born out of Kentridge's 2009 take on Shostakovich's rarely performed opera The Nose.'

'Music theatre performance Refuse the hour by William Kentridge, world premiere at Holland Festival 2012.'

'Finally, accompanying Notes Towards a Model Opera on the second floor of the exhibition hall is a reading room where viewers can page through a selection of William Kentridge's artist books and short films.'

'Rooted in extensive research into the intellectual, political, and social history of modern China, from Lu Xun to revolutionary theater, that Kentridge undertook in preparation for this exhibition, this three-channel projection explores dynamics of cultural diffusion and metamorphosis through the formal prism of the eight model operas of the Cultural Revolution.'

'Starting from its origins in Paris, Kentridge playfully overlays the aesthetic and ideological transformations of ballet as it is transplanted across the globe, an arch of influence juxtaposing contexts as disparate as Moscow, Shanghai, and the artist's native Johannesburg.'