I checked out the William Kentridge  ‘Five Themes’ exhibition at ACMI a few days ago.  It is an amazing show, well worth a few visits to absorb the breadth and great variety of works on display. The works span opera sets, film, works on paper and sculpture. The film work dominated the exhibition, understandably so given its prevalence in his art practice.  There are also many works on paper (drawings mainly in charcoal and ink), some from the films and others as stand alone pieces.  It was great to see the results of his approach to drawing/painting first hand, given the great fluidity and reworking of images. Two major works are multi piece installations, related to the Magic Flute work. There were also a surprising number of sculptures (bronzes), carefully placed and lit so that the shadows themselves became part of the piece. I was keen to see his printed works, however there were only a few included in the exhibition. There was however an amazing monotype (Artist and model, 1979). I sensed a Francis Bacon influence in this and some of the other early works in paper (for example the fleshy male and female characters).

One room is dedicated to about 6 digital projections, showing Kentridge working is his studio (some films actually showing in reverse)- this is an almost overwhelming experience.

My take away from this exhibition is that here is an artist of great integrity, both for the subjects he works on and also the way he approaches his art. The resulting works are incredibly powerful, because they are sparse, of limited tonal range and based on powerful themes.