MIAMI, FLORIDA.-On the occasion of Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami Art Central, popularly known as MAC, presents William Kentridge, a comprehensive examination of the work of the renowned South African artist. Kentridge has gained international recognition for his distinctive animated short films, and for the many charcoal drawings created through a unique process of erasure and re-drawing. A native of Johannesburg, Kentridge has always addressed the more challenging and intimate aspects of contemporary life in South Africa, both during Apartheid and the post-Apartheid period, investigating the ways in which identities are shaped through shifting ideas of history and place. In the course of his examination, he explores the role of poetry in contemporary society, and offers a biting, satirical commentary of that society, proposing a way of seeing life as process rather than as fact. Through the mediums of film, sculptures, installation, charcoal drawings on paper and his work in theater as a set designer and director, Kentridge has explored the nature of memory and emotions, the ambiguity and complexity of social conflicts in the age of globalization.

William Kentridge’s labor-intensive work involves the scripting and making of a drawing that animates an element of the script. He films each drawing as a single frame in sequence. Each drawing is then altered by erasure and further drawing as his narrative advances, essentially eliminated by the superimposition of the next drawing on the ground of the preceding one. The final work is presented as a film, a process associated with the making of animated films throughout the history of cinema in the 20th century.

The exhibition William Kentridge premieres the recent Tide Table (2003-2004) which includes early and recent drawings made by the artist since 1979. It includes animated films featuring Kentridge’s signature characters, Soho Eckstein and his alter ego Felix Teitlebaum. MAC’s exhibition also includes sculpture with projections onto objects such as Sleeping on Glass (1999) and Medicine Chest (2000), as well as recent works including Journey to the Moon (2003).

Prior to its presentation at MAC, William Kentridge traveled to K20 K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein Westfalen, Düsseldorf; Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal; and the Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg after its original presentation at the Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea.