William Kentridge and Lapis Blue
Plus, why is Trump meddling in the Venice Architecture Biennale?
By his own admission, William Kentridge’s studio is a “safe space for stupidity.” This principle has served the indefatigable South African artist well — over the course of six decades, he has developed a style all his own spanning printmaking, drawing, animation, and sculpture. Now, he’s sharing insights into his dendritic process in a new book based on a 2024 lecture he delivered at Oxford. Read one such chapter on lapis blue and creativity exclusively on Hyperallergic.
Also today: a guide to Upstate Art Weekend, Trump’s meddling with the Venice Biennale of Architecture, and an interview with painter Richard Tsao.
—Lakshmi Rivera Amin, associate editor
A Natural History of William Kentridge’s Studio
Some years ago, two friends gave me a block of watercolour, pure lapis lazuli from Afghanistan. Lapis lazuli is a precious pigment used sparingly in Renaissance painting, now more generally replaced by French ultramarine. But there is an intense blueness in lapis, a colour coming off the paper towards you that is unmatched by any synthetic colour. In projections and photography and printing, this blue always loses its power.
I don’t use colour in my drawings. But I painted some squares and circles to see the colour I was given. I was caught, wanting to devour the blue and not knowing how to bring it into anything I was drawing. While waiting to solve what I should do with the blue, I started painting texts and phrases with it | William Kentridge
Read More
A $90,000 Graduate Fellowship for Immigrants & Children of Immigrants in the Visual Arts
The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans supports immigrants & children of immigrants in MFA, MA, PhD & other graduate programs.
Queer Elders
Richard Tsao’s “Sanuk” Art
In an interview with Hyperallergic, the artist known for his “Flood Room” paintings compares his decades-long practice to “the need for food.” | AX Mina
Read MoreGuide
What You Can’t Miss at Upstate Art Weekend
The art extravaganza in New York’s Hudson Valley and Catskills is back with a retrospective of Betty Parsons, a tailgate-style exhibition, living sculptures, and more.
Read MoreCommunity
Art Movements
Trump is coming for the Architecture Biennale, Modigliani’s “indecent” nude fetches $63.9M, the National Gallery of Art gets a major contemporary art gift, and more industry news.
Read MoreRequired Reading
This week: Scott Burton’s last sculpture, remembering Lebanese environmental activist Mona Khalil, AI slop in art journalism, NYC’s rollerskating queer icon, and more.
Read MoreMember Comment
Laura L Smith on “James Wagner, Insatiable Art Collector, Dies at 85”
From the Archive
William Kentridge Sees the Universe in a Pot of Coffee
The artist tells Hyperallergic about how the isolation of COVID-19 led to a streaming series set wholly within the bounds of his studio. | Debra Brehmer
Read More
