Strauss & co - 30 June 2014, Johannesburg

212 268 William Joseph KENTRIDGE south african 1955– ZenoLandscape II signed contéandcharcoal onpaper 80,5by 121 cm R750000–1000000 notes Thisdrawingwasusedon the invitation to theexhibition. WilliamKentridge isgloballyacclaimedasoneof today’s leadingcontemporaryartists.Whileheworks across an astonishingarrayof practices includingperformance, theatre, film, opera, andprintmaking, it ishismasteryof themediumof charcoal that has inspiredawidespread re-evaluationof this ancientmedium. ZenoLandscape II is acharcoal drawing that formsone of theclosing images to thefilmcomponent of Zenoat 4am . This remarkableproduction, inwhichactors and singerson stage interactedwith shadowprocession puppets andfilmprojections,wasperformed inmany venues including theLunaTheatre, KunstenFESTIVALdes Arts, Brussels and theLincolnCenter, NewYork, in the Great Performers series in 2001; DocumentaXI, Kassel, Germany; theMonumentTheatre, Grahamstownand the SpierAmphitheatre, Stellenbosch in 2002. Basedon Italo Svevo’s 1923novel, ConfessionsofZeno , it is set inTrieste in northern Italyat the turnof the twentiethcentury, against abackdropof rapid industrialisationandwar. Thenarrative centresonan individual thwartedbyextreme social transformationandhisownennui. Thequalityof Kentridge’smark-makingevokes a rangeof responses. Charcoal lines are featheryand delicate, as if alluding topartial truths that cannever fullydescribeexperience. Calligraphic script suggests an historical dimensionwhilefluttering smokeand scrolling landscapes evoke theuncertaintyof themodernworld. FigA implies anexampleor amarker of evidence that draws attention toa scene. All isopen-ended.Withan appealing lyricism, theartist captures theelusivequality of thoughts and the swirlingdilemmas that engage the central character. Kentridgeclearlyconsidered ZenoLandscape II amajor drawing in thisbodyofworkand sufficiently significant tobe selectedas the imageof theexhibition invitation for ZenoWriting whichopenedatGoodmanGallery in March, 2003.