William Kentridge (b. 1955) is an internationally acclaimed South African artist renowned for his dynamic prints, drawings, large-scale installations, and animated films. Through his practice, he balances universal experiences with the complexity of South African political history and society.
Born in Johannesburg to two prominent lawyers active in anti-apartheid efforts, Kentridge’s proximity to the dissolution of apartheid gave him a unique social sensitivity. His upbringing would shape the socio-political lens that informed his work as an artist.
Kentridge is somewhat of a polymath. Having pursued formal education across politics, fine art, miming, and theatre, it comes as no surprise that his work cannot be contained to the bounds of a single medium. Prints have held an important position in his oeuvre. He has produced over 500 editions since the 1970s.
This print comes from a series of 30 etchings–The Nose–created in conjunction with Kentridge's direction of Shostakovich's The Nose at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, in 2010. Kentridge treated the print suite as a sketchbook of mis-en-scene ideas for the production. The aesthetic platform chosen became a way to merge ideas, integrating Gogol’s short story (1830s) on which the opera is based, with research into Russian iconography of the 1920s, the time when Shostakovich wrote the opera.
In "The Nose," Kentridge draws parallels to the apartheid in South Africa, framing absurdity as a form of realism rather than humour. He grapples with the incomprehensibility of the world through the aesthetics of the absurd.
Requiring commitment and careful consideration, Kentridge's images offer layered meanings to dedicated viewers, permeating in their minds long after they've disengaged from active looking.
This print was created during at an important time in the artist's career, around when he had an impressive comprehensive travelling survey, originally organized by the SFMoMA and the Norton Museum of Art, and showing at the MoMA, and the Modern, among others.
William Kentridge's works are held in the collections of the Tate, the Pompidou, and the MoMA, among many other prestigious institutions. He was more recently the subject of a solo exhibition at the Royal Academy in London in 2022.
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“Nose 22”
From Nose, a series of 30 etchings
South Africa, 2007-2009
Sugarlift aquatint, drypoint, and engraving on Somerset Velvet Soft White 300 gsm paper
Signed "W Kentridge" and numbered "33/50" by the artist in pencil, lower edge
15.75”H 13.75”W (sheet)
19.75"H 17.5"W (framed)
Framed with museum glass
Very good condition
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