A Natural History of the Studio

A Natural History of the Studio explored William Kentridge’s studio as a space for drawing, experimentation, memory, and the construction of ideas. The exhibition presented his nine-part film series Self-Portrait as a Coffee-Pot alongside more than seventy drawings used in its creation, as well as sculptures and animated works. Moving between charcoal drawing, stop-motion animation, live performance, and sculpture, Kentridge addresses colonialism, Johannesburg’s mining history, mythology, politics, and the creative process itself. The presentation extended to Hauser & Wirth’s nearby 18th Street space with a survey of nearly thirty prints spanning two decades of his printmaking practice.