Conversazioni d’autore.William Kentridge

MAXXI Auditorium and Gallery 4 – SOLD OUT
tickets 5€ – free for myMAXXI card holders – subject to availability of places

A major figure on the international scene, in his work William Kentridge, the South African artist and theatre and animated film director, tackles issues associated with the racial segregation he witnessed for years. In conversation with Hou Hanru and Achille Bonito Oliva, the artist will discuss some of his works. Introduced by Giovanna Melandri President Fondazione MAXXI

The seminar is also an opportunity to get to know more about the artist thanks to the exhibition in the gallery devoted to MAXXI’s permanent collection of four works that make up a focus entitled About William Kentridge. A chance to admire together the large tapestry North Pole Map (2003) in which great walking figures evoke life’s journey and the migrations of peoples, Preparing the Flute (2004-2005) which presents a scaled-down form of the sets for Mozart’s Magic Flute directed by Kentridge and presented at the Brussels Opera House that year. There are also two large drawings: Flagellant (1995-97) inspired by Ubu, the celebrated character by Alfred Jarry and part of a broader reflection by the artist on the theme of the suffering and massacres of apartheid, and Untitled (Large Drawing – Standing Man) (2001) part of a group inspired by the series of lithographs Summer Graffiti, a combination of erotic dreams and sketches.

Conversazioni d’autore. Six seminars with the protagonists of the MAXXI Collections
13 April – 9 June 2016

The cycle Conversazioni d’autore has been created with the intention of investigating the compositional themes in the projects and works exhibited in the museum gallery devoted to the display of the MAXXI collections through dialogues with their creators. On the basis of the works on show, the artists and the architects will guide the public on an exploration of the multiple meanings within the processes of making art and architecture, presenting their ideas through a fruitful and stimulating dialogue with academics and critics.