Universal Archive

This unique and beautifully presented book includes almost one hundred prints in all media, from 1991 to the present, with a stress on experimental, collaborative and serial works. William Kentridge's distinctive use of light and shadow and silhouettes, his concern with memory and perspective, and his absorption in literary texts, are all strongly in evidence throughout this book, which provides new insights into the working methods of this prolific artist. Kentridge is internationally acclaimed for his drawings, films and theatre and opera productions. He is also an innovative and prolific printmaker; he started his career studying etching at the Johannesburg Art Foundation, and printmaking has remained central to his work ever since. Over the past 25 years, he has produced more than three hundred prints - etchings, engravings, aquatints, silkscreens, linocuts and lithographs - often experimenting with challenging formats and combinations of printing techniques to create highly-worked, intensely atmospheric imagery. Kentridge is producing 40 new prints for the accompanying exhibition some of which will be illustrated in this book. His prints range in scale from intimate etchings and drypoints to linocuts on rice paper and canvas measuring 2.5 metres high. Also featured is Portage (2000), an accordion-folded multi-panelled book, 4 metres long, with torn paper silhouetted figures dancing across unbound pages of the French encyclopedia Le Nouveau Larousse Illustre. The procession is one of Kentridge's great themes, ultimately a symbol of humanity's journey through life.