A major retrospective devoted to William Kentridge is set to open in 2020 at the LaM, the first exhibition on this scale commissioned by a French museum.

Designed in close collaboration with the artist and the Kunstmuseum in Basel, the exhibition will be take up half the Museum’s surface area and present previously unseen works never exhibited in Europe (from the artist’s very first drawings to his latest work, yet to be completed). A native of South Africa, William Kentridge has gained international recognition as one of the greatest artists of his generation. One of the last twenty years’ most prolific creators, he explores all mediums with consummate ease, including drawing, engraving, sculpture, tapestry, animated film, performance and video installation. His interest in the theatre has led him to create bridgeways between the visual arts, the cinema and the performing arts, making him a virtuoso in creating and images in motion. His abundant body of work provides a poetic and critical vision of highly delicate subjects as decolonisation, Apartheid, political conflicts and Africa’s role in the First World War.


In October 2019, William Kentridge received the Praemium Imperiale, one of the most prestigious prizes in the field of the arts and culture, awarded by Japan’s imperial family.