William Kentridge: A Natural History of the Studio

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The book A Natural History of the Studio presents William Kentridge’s personal yet analytical perspective on his own work, his memories, and the very principle of artistic creation. It is based on his Slade Lectures, delivered in 2024 at the University of Oxford, and expands upon them into a coherent narrative about how an image, an idea, and a work of art come into being.

Kentridge moves between autobiography, art history, and experimentation. Here, the studio appears not merely as a physical place, but as a mental space where memories, visual stimuli, and fragments of the surrounding world intertwine. He shows how reality transforms into material for creation – how images layer, disappear, and reappear.

The publication is also a reflection on time, memory, and the creative process. Here, Kentridge appears not only as a visual artist but also as an author capable of articulating, with clarity and sensitivity, what it means to think through images.

William Kentridge

William Kentridge (*1955, Johannesburg) is one of the most important contemporary artists. His practice spans drawing, printmaking, film, animation, theatre, and installation, and consistently explores the relationship between image, time, and memory.

His work is deeply shaped by the historical and political context of South Africa, particularly the era of apartheid. Kentridge addresses themes such as power, injustice, collective memory, and human responsibility, often working through fragmentation, repetition, and shifting meaning.

Drawing plays a central role in his process as a living, evolving medium – images are never fixed, but continuously erased, redrawn, and transformed. This openness and layered approach make his work a powerful and timeless reflection on the world around us.