William Kentridge (South African, b.1955) is a filmmaker, draughtsman, and sculptor, and the son of Sydney Kentridge, one of South Africa''s foremost anti-apartheid lawyers. After studying politics and African history at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg from 1973 until 1976, Kentridge studied Fine Art at the Johannesburg Art Foundation (1976–1978) and the École Jacques Lecoq in Paris. His interest in theater—specifically in acting and design—influenced his artistic style and inspired a desire to connect film and drawing. Kentridge''s drawings, usually rendered using
pastels and
charcoal, were often created as studies for animated films.
His work was further inspired by artistic satirists, including
Honoré Daumier (French, 1808–1879),
Francisco de Goya (Spanish, 1746-1828), and
William Hogarth (British, 1697-1764). By the 1990s, Kentridge had established an international audience and reputation. His works have been exhibited in solo exhibitions at many museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Albertina Museum in Vienna, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Since the 1980s, Kentridge has been awarded various prizes, such as the Kaiserring Prize, the Carnegie Prize, the Standard Bank Young Artist Award, and the Red Ribbon Award for Short Fiction. He currently lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa.