Considered one of the most powerful voices in art today, the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) presents the landmark exhibition, William Kentridge: That which we do not remember on display until 8 September 2019.
William Kentridge is a powerhouse within contemporary art today,” says Rhana Devenport, ONZM, Director AGSA. “His works speak directly to the human condition, laying bare the intrinsic connections across art and history. What an honour and privilege it is to bring work of this depth and calibre to South Australian audiences.”
Curated by Kentridge himself, That which we do not remember traces the arc of the artist’s prolific thirty-year career and draws connections between the myriad aspects of his work including drawing, collage, stop-motion animation, performance, theatre, tapestry and sculpture.
Significant to the exhibition, a selection of artworks from the Naomi Milgrom Collection presents a union of art, ideology, history and memory emanating from Kentridge’s experiences of the apartheid regime in South Africa. Grounded in the violent absurdity of that period in his country’s history, dramatic structure, farce, absurdity, terror, obliteration and narrative are just some of his preoccupations.
Designed by Sabine Theunissen, who has worked together with Kentridge since 2005 for many of his theatrical and theatre-based projects, the exhibition is ingeniously installed as a series of intimate encounters. Visitors are invited to step into cork-lined pods for a transformative experience of the moving image.
Kentridge brings his drawings to life, with visitors surrounded by sound and image throughout this immersive exhibition. Audiences will also experience a rare insight into Kentridge’s working methods, with a re-creation of the artist’s studio situated within the exhibition.
William Kentridge: That which we do not remember is the result of Naomi Milgrom’s close collaboration with Kentridge and features significant loans from both the Naomi Milgrom Collection and the artist’s studio. Major works include I am not me, the horse is not mine (video installation), Eight figures (charcoal) and Drawings for 7 Fragments for George Mèliès, Day for Night and Journey to the Moon (collage on paper).
“Over the years I have treasured William’s work and his friendship,” said Naomi Milgrom AO. “Having initiated this project I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to work closely with him and Sabine. William is an artist of immense dexterity and enduring complexity fusing opera and animation, drawing and language – it’s been a privilege to share my collection and allow free access to his extraordinary work.’
A version of this exhibition was previously presented at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and was met with critical acclaim.
“Kentridge’s work embraces the microcosm and the macrocosm, the vast sweep of human history and the minutiae of everyday life. It’s profoundly serious and completely absurd… There is nobody in the upper echelons of contemporary art quite like South Africa’s William Kentridge.” – John McDonald, Sydney Morning Herald
William Kentridge: That which we do not remember
Art Gallery of South Australia, North Terrace, Adelaide
Exhibition continues to 8 September 2019
Free entry
For more information, visit: www.agsa.sa.gov.au for details.
Image: William Kentridge, South Africa, born 1955, Eight figures, 2010, Johannesburg, South Africa, brush and ink, charcoal, coloured pencil, pastel on paper, 107.5 x 207.0 cm (sheet); Collection of Naomi Milgrom AO, Courtesy the artist – photo by C. Capurro