To Cross One More Sea
Johannesburg
25 January - 20 March
William Kentridge | To Cross One More Sea
Goodman Gallery Johannesburg
William Kentridge
Head-Image
Goodman Gallery presents ‘To Cross One More Sea’, featuring the African debut of William Kentridge's film of the same name, which premiered at LUMA Arles in 2024, alongside a selection of related works. Through a series of drawings, works on paper, small sculptures, puppets and film, the exhibition expands on Kentridge’s recent projects, including the chamber opera ‘The Great Yes, The Great No’ and episodic film series ‘Self-Portrait as a Coffee Pot’.
‘The Great Yes, The Great No’ is a Surrealist, part-historical, part-fictional journey that sees figures such as André Breton, Suzanne and Aimé Césaire, Josephine Baker, Frantz Fanon, the Nardal sisters, Léon-Gontran Damas, Joséphine Bonaparte, and others navigating an ocean journey from Marseilles to Martinque, escaping Vichy France. The three-screen film version of the performance, ‘To Cross One More Sea’, unfolds across several chapters of their journey exploring themes of displacement and forced journeys of past and present.
‘Drawing for Self-Portrait as a Coffee Pot (Still Life: Her Sleep Was Everything)’, is a new unique piece that enters into dialogue with Kentridge’s film series which debuted during the Venice Biennale in spring 2024 and is now streaming on MUBI. ‘Self-Portrait as a Coffee Pot’ is an invitation into the artist’s studio, offering a glimpse into the key processes and methods that define it.
William Kentridge
Drawing for Self-Portrait as a Coffee Pot (Still Life: Her Sleep Was Everything), 2024
Charcoal and coloured pencil on paper
Work: 160 x 230 cm (63 x 90.6 in.)
Unique
Several new puppets, made with Greta Goiris, crafted from old tools, found materials and objects, draw a connection between the exhibition and Kentridge’s expansive work premised on Shostakovich’s 10th Symphony, ‘Oh To Believe in Another World’, a film interweaving a series of images and narratives set in a cardboard model of an imagined Soviet museum, spanning events from the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution to the death of Stalin in 1953. In ‘To Cross One More Sea’, Kentridge continues his use of the puppet as a performative object in the relaying of complex stories. The particular character of each puppet emerges from working with the form of the tools and found materials to create an anthropomorphic figure.
William Kentridge & Greta Goiris
Citizens, 2024
Metal, wood and material
Work: 65 x 45 x 120 cm (25.6 x 17.7 x 47.2 in.)
Display: 105 x 45 x 120 cm (41.3 x 17.7 x 47.2 in.)
Unique
William Kentridge & Greta Goiris
Trio (Voice, Lili, Madness & Shamelessness), 2024
Paper, wood and metal
Glass case: 60 x 100 x 45 cm (23.6 x 39.4 x 17.7 in.)
Display: 105 x 100 x 45 cm (41.3 x 39.4 x 17.7 in.)
Work (Lili): 53 x 19 x 17 cm (20.9 x 7.5 x 6.7 in.)
Work (Madness & Shameless): 30 x 16.5 x 24 cm (11.8 x 6.5 x 9.4 in.)
Work (Voice): 46 x 26.5 x 25 cm (18.1 x 10.4 x 9.8 in.)
Unique
William Kentridge & Greta Goiris
Small Parade, 2024
Metal, material and wood
Work (approx): 27 x 140 x 15.5 cm (10.6 x 55.1 x 6.1 in.)
Unique
William Kentridge
Blue Bird, 2024
Wood, material, metal and paper
Glass box: 52 x 35 x 50 cm (20.5 x 13.8 x 19.7 in.)
Display: 105 x 35 x 60 cm (41.3 x 13.8 x 23.6 in.)
Work: 45 x 15 x 36.5 cm (17.7 x 5.9 x 14.4 in.)
Unique
William Kentridge
White Shoe, 2024
Wood and paper
Glass: 65 x 45 x 50 cm (25.6 x 17.7 x 19.7 in.)
Display: 105 x 50 x 40 cm (41.3 x 19.7 x 15.7 in.)
Work: 57.5 x 17.5 x 34 cm (22.6 x 6.9 x 13.4 in.)
Unique
William Kentridge
White Shirt, 2024
Material, wood and metal
Glass box: 94 x 45 x 45 cm (37 x 17.7 x 17.7 in.)
Display: 105 x 50 x 50 cm (41.3 x 19.7 x 19.7 in.)
Work: 85.5 x 33.5 x 38.5 cm (33.7 x 13.2 x 15.2 in.)
Unique
William Kentridge
Red Cap and Braces, 2024
Material, wood and metal
Glass box: 70 x 40 x 45 cm (27.6 x 15.7 x 17.7 in.)
Display: 105 x 40 x 45 cm (41.3 x 15.7 x 17.7 in.)
Work: 61.5 x 28.5 x 19.5 cm (24.2 x 11.2 x 7.7 in.)
Unique
William Kentridge
Italics Plus, 2024
43 Bronzes
Approx: 100 x 280 x 28.5 cm (39.4 x 110.2 x 11.2 in.)
Edition of 9
William Kentridge
There Is So Little Wind, 2024
Paint, Indian ink, charcoal and collage on canvas
Work: 159.5 x 178 cm (62.8 x 70.1 in.)
Unique
William Kentridge
Six Heads Marseilles Martinique Leon D. et al., 2023
Paint, Indian ink, Charcoal and Pencil on paper
Work: 152 x 128 cm (59.8 x 50.4 in.)
Frame: 162 x 139 x 5.5 cm (63.8 x 54.7 x 2.2 in.)
Unique
William Kentridge
Six Heads Marseilles Martinique Ignatius S. et al., 2023
Paint, Indian ink, Charcoal and Coloured pencil on paper
Work: 152 x 128 cm (59.8 x 50.4 in.)
Frame: 162,3 x 139 x 5.5 cm (63.9 x 54.7 x 2.2 in.)
Unique
William Kentridge
Try to Understand this Simple Speech, 2023
Indian ink, coloured pencil and Collage on Phumani handmade paper
Work: 224.5 x 165.5 cm (88.4 x 65.2 in.)
Unique
William Kentridge
Paper Procession II (Large), 2023
Painted aluminium and steel
Edition of 5
William Kentridge
Milk, 2023
Bronze
Work: 105.5 x 124 x 82.8 cm (41.5 x 48.8 x 32.6 in.)
Edition of 5 + 1 AP
William Kentridge
Branch, 2021
Bronze
Work: 122 x 81 x 35 cm (48 x 31.9 x 13.8 in.)
Weight : 122 kgs
Edition of 5 + 1 AP
William Kentridge
Duo: Eudrydice & Orpheus, 2024
Bronze
Work: 21.2 x 18 x 11.5 cm (8.3 x 7.1 x 4.5 in.)
Work: 22 x 15.6 x 10 cm (8.7 x 6.1 x 3.9 in.)
Edition of 10
William Kentridge
Three Clean Men, 2024
Coffee-lift Aquatint with Drypoint on Phumani Sisal 120 gsm on Hahnemühle 300 gsm
Work: 54 x 68 cm (21.3 x 26.8 in.)
Edition of 40
William Kentridge
Studio Portrait II, 2024
Etching on sisal paper
Work: 46 x 39.5 cm (18.1 x 15.6 in.)
Edition of 50
William Kentridge
I Look In The Mirror, I Know What I Need, 2024
Handmade Korean paper
Work: 128 x 168 cm (50.4 x 66.1 in.)
Edition of 26 + 4 AP
William Kentridge (b.1955, South Africa) is known for his drawings, films, theatre and opera productions. Kentridge’s largest survey exhibition, first seen at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 2022, traveled to Taipei Fine Arts Museum in 2024. Recently in Venice, Kentridge premiered a new nine-episode video series ‘Self-Portrait as a Coffee Pot’ - a site-specific installation curated by long-time collaborator and curator Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev at the Arsenale Institute for Politics of Representation. The films are now available to stream on MUBI. 2024 also saw the artist premiere the theatrical production ‘The Great Yes, The Great No’ at LUMA Arles in July alongside a substantial solo exhibition.
Kentridge’s work has been seen in solo exhibitions in museums across the globe since the 1990s, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Musée du Louvre, Paris; Reina Sofia, Madrid; the Kunstmuseum Basel; and MUDAM Luxembourg. The artist has also participated in biennials including Documenta in Kassel (2012, 2002,1997) and the Venice Biennale (2015, 2013, 2005, 1999, 1993).
Collections include: MoMA, New York; Guggenheim, New York; MFA Houston; Tate, London; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah; The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark; and Zeitz MoCAA, Cape Town.