William Kentridge

William Kentridge was born in Johannesburg in 1955 and graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand in 1976. Throughout his career he has moved between film, drawing and theatre, with recent projects frequently integrating elements from all these media and more. Since his participation in Documenta X in Kassel in 1997, solo shows of Kentridge's work have been shown in many museums and galleries around the world, starting with the MCA San Diego (1998), and the Museum of Modern Art in New York (1999). In 1998 a survey exhibition of his work was hosted by the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, continuing to museums in Munich, Barcelona, London, Marseille and Graz during 1998/1999. Also in 1999, he was awarded the Carnegie Medal at the Carnegie International 1999/2000. 2001 saw the launch of a substantial survey show of Kentridge's work in Washington, travelling thereafter to New York, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and Cape Town. In October 2003 Kentridge received the Goslar Kaisserring in recognition of his contribution to contemporary art. Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev curated a new retrospective exhibition of his work for the Castello di Rivoli in Turin in January 2004, touring thereafter to Dusseldorf, Sydney, Montreal, Johannesburg and Miami. In November 2004 the Metropolitan Museum in New York presented a solo show of Kentridge's work from their collection. April 2005 saw the premiere of a production of Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) at the Théâtre de La Monnaie in Brussels, with William Kentridge directing and René Jacobs as conductor. The installation 7 Fragments for Georges Méliès, Day for Night and Journey to the Moon was presented at the 2005 Venice Biennale. In October 2005, the Deutsche Bank Guggenheim in Berlin presented Black Box / Chambre Noire, a project commissioned by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.