MCA DNA: William Kentridge

Acclaimed for his work in animated film, visual art, theater, and opera, William Kentridge had his first survey exhibition in the United States in 2001 at MCA Chicago. From this exhibition, the MCA acquired more than a dozen drawings and two of his best-known films: Felix in Exile (1994) and History of the Main Complaint (1996), both of which will be on view. The drawings featured in the exhibition are those used to make this latter film—charcoal sketches that Kentridge erased and reworked to create the memorable segments that depict his alter egos and their struggles in late and post-apartheid Johannesburg: Felix Teitlebaum, the romantic artist who is always shown nude, and Soho Eckstein, the self-absorbed, wealthy mine owner and land developer who always wears a pinstriped suit.

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