This spring in Toronto, there’s a rare opportunity to view the work of multidisciplinary artist William Kentridge on both paper and the stage. 

The South African-born artist is featured at the AGO and the Canadian Opera Company (COC), showcasing the breadth of Kentridge’s practice. The artist is internationally acclaimed for his work across drawing, film, theatre, and opera productions.  

At the AGO, visitors can see a quintessential example of Kentridge’s work on paper. Another Country (1994) is currently on view as part of the exhibition Light Years: The Phil Lind Gift. Kentridge is widely known for his charcoal and pastel drawings, often using this medium to explore the socio-political conditions in post-Apartheid South Africa. Another Country was created in 1994, the same year apartheid began to be dismantled in South Africa. It depicts a megaphone, half-submerged in a flooded city street. Megaphones are a recurring motif in Kentridge's work.  

While most of the drawing is in black charcoal, the flooded water is blue, and red highlights in pastel are added throughout the work. Another Country exemplifies how Kentridge increasingly incorporated colour in his work post-apartheid to depict the changing socio-political landscape of his home country.  

William Kentridge. Small Silhouette 35, 2014-2015. Acrylic on laser-cut stainless steel, Overall: 157.5 × 116.8 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario, Gift of the Estate of Philip B. Lind, 2024. © William Kentridge. Photo: Cathy Carver. 2024/55

Kentridge’s Small Silhouette 35 (2014 – 2015) is also on view as part of Light Years and is a further example of Kentridge’s multi-disciplinary practice. This laser-cut, stainless-steel bird first manifested as a charcoal drawing before Kentridge transformed it into a prop for his 35-metre-long frieze More Sweetly Play the Dance (2015), which is held in the National Gallery of Canada’s collection.  

In this video installation, Small Silhouette 35 is one of many objects carried as a standard by a procession; the other standards consist of abstracted heads of saints, bundles of firewood, cages, and even a bathtub. As the figures parade across the screens, it’s hard to determine whether one is witnessing a funeral procession or a celebration. The film is deeply political, encompassing community, a history of human migration, and how we express our humanity. Now displayed individually, Small Silhouette 35 stands as a unique work that exists on the boundary between drawing and sculpture. These works by Kentridge came to the AGO as part of a gift from the late Phil Lind (1943-2023), a prodigious collector of contemporary art. Curated by Adam Welch, the AGO's Curator of Modern Art, Light Years features a selection of works from Lind’s generous gift – one of the largest in the history of the AGO’s contemporary art collection.  

As you may have guessed, the COC offers a chance to see Kentridge’s work in operatic form. From April 25 to May 16, Kentridge’s production of Alban Berg’s opera Wozzeck will take the stage at COC. The opera takes place in a rural German-speaking town and follows the story of a soldier named Wozzeck, who breaks down after the woman he loves betrays him. In this production of Wozzeck, Kentridge takes inspiration from the graininess of a charcoal drawing. 

Experience William Kentridge across mediums by visiting Light Years: The Phil Lind Gift, on view on Level 2 of the AGO until November 2, 2025, and the COC production of Wozzeck, on stage from April 25 to May 15, 2025.