William Kentridge, a South African artist born in 1955 in Johannesburg, is renowned for his ability to merge drawing, animation, sculpture, theatre, and performance to explore the complexities of history, memory, and identity. His latest exhibition, A Natural History of the Studio, presented by Hauser & Wirth in New York, offers a rare immersion into his creative process.
It features 45 original drawings from his nine-part film series, Self-Portrait as a Coffee Pot (2020–2024). These works illustrate the artist's evolution, transforming an ordinary everyday object into a complex metaphor for thought and transformation. The installation transforms the space into an environment reminiscent of the artist’s studio, highlighting the interconnection between drawing and sculpture.
Kentridge describes his studio as an "enlarged head," where the images on the walls and their movements represent the emergence and shifting of thoughts. This metaphor emphasizes the idea of the studio as a space for reflection and creation—a place where the world is fragmented, rearranged, and sent back out in the form of drawings, performances, or text.
The exhibition also features monumental sculptures, such as Cape Silver and Her, which illustrate the artist's evolution in exploring recurring forms and symbols. These works demonstrate his ability to transcend the boundaries between different artistic disciplines, creating a continuous dialogue between his drawings, films, and sculptures.
A Natural History of the Studio is more than a simple retrospective; it invites visitors to intimately enter William Kentridge's inner world. One leaves the exhibition with the feeling of knowing the artist a little better—and of knowing more about his work.
