ART: Oppression as inspiration

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By Deborah K. Dietsch

On the surface, the pairing of artworks by South African William Kentridge and Russian Oleg Kudryashov at the Kreeger Museum seems like a good match.

Both artists go "against the grain," as the exhibit is titled, by bearing witness to the history of oppression within their native lands through sketchy scenes. Most of the approximately four dozen works on view are 1990s prints owned by Washington-area collectors.

However, the similarities between the art of these two foreign talents turn out to be superficial in a bifurcated exhibition that is not really a comparative undertaking. Each artist gets his own gallery and curator: the National Gallery of Art's Eric Denker organized the South African section of the show while his colleague Christopher Wirth arranged the Russian part.

The division immediately raises the question over which half of the exhibit offers the better art. From the wall text, the obscure Mr. Kudryashov sounds like he might produce interesting work, but "Against the Grain" shows that the overexposed Mr. Kentridge is clearly the more original talent.

At 54, the Johannesburg-based artist is a darling of the museum world — and with good reason. His prints and drawings address South Africa's stain of apartheid but also the universal human condition through an accessible, representational style.

At the start of the show, Mr. Kentridge's severed "Blue Head" could be a metaphor for the civil rights struggle. Criss-crossed strings across the face and neck suggest bondage yet the head's upward tilt hints at defiance.

In counterpoint, his portrait of the "General" resembles a military figure from the ruling class. At a glance, both portraits are understood as representing opposing archetypes of protest and authoritarianism.

Mr. Kentridge often examines highly charged political subjects through depictions of himself as a kind of pudgy everyman. In "Sleeper Red," his nude reclining body sprawls against a scarlet background to suggest the white somnolence and black rage of apartheid-era South Africa.

In a series of prints titled "Ubu Tells the Truth," Mr. Kentridge pairs his self-portrait with a rotund cartoon character based on the despot in French writer Alfred Jarry's satirical play "Ubu Roi." The imagery was inspired by testimony given during the hearings held by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission set up by the South African government in 1995 to investigate human rights violations during apartheid.

Metamorphosis is a recurring theme in Mr. Kentridge's work, suggesting hopefulness about political change. This process of transformation is best captured in the videos of his charcoal drawings.