At MAXXI in Rome, Kentridge and Miller's film-concert between images, music and history

From January 29 to April 6, 2026, MAXXI Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo in Rome presents in Gallery 5 BREATHE DISSOLVE RETURN, a cine-concert by artist William Kentridge and composer Philip Miller, curated by Oscar Pizzo and Franco Laera. The 55-minute project takes the form of an experience in which moving images and music build a tight and continuous dialogue. On Jan. 29, 30 and 31 and Feb. 1, the musical component will be performed live, accentuating the performative dimension of the work.

The cine-concert stems from a visual reworking of two central works in Kentridge’s production. On the one hand, Triumphs and Laments, the monumental frieze created in 2016 along five hundred meters of the Lungotevere, conceived as a reflection on the history of the river and the city of Rome; on the other hand, The Head and the Load, in the film version Kaboom!, dedicated to the memory of Africa and the African populations involved in World War I. The images, organized as a layered and constantly changing collage, are interwoven with Philip Miller’s compositions, shaping a nonlinear narrative in which historical references, political dimensions, and imagination coexist without a predetermined hierarchy.

Alongside the new production, Gallery 5 is also hosting Triumphs and Laments (2025), a leporello, a multi-part accordion print that restores the 2016 frieze in its entirety. A selection of works by William Kentridge from the MAXXI Collection is also presented within the exhibition space, near the large window. It includes two large drawings, Flagellant (1996-1997) and Untitled (Large drawing - Standing man) (2001), along with the large tapestry North Pole Map (2003), offering further insight into the artist’s graphic and textile work.

The project was commissioned by MAXXI Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo and is co-produced by the museum with Change Performing Arts, in collaboration with the William Kentridge Studio. The program is completed with the meeting Conversations d’Autore, scheduled for Saturday, January 31 at 11:30 a.m. in the MAXXI auditorium. The protagonists of the appointment will be William Kentridge and Philip Miller, in dialogue with Francesco Stocchi, MAXXI Artistic Director, and Oscar Pizzo, co-curator of the project. Beginning with the experience of BREATHE DISSOLVE RETURN, the meeting will explore the creative process and collaboration between artist and composer, dwelling on the role of music, montage, and visual and aural layering in the construction of open and complex narratives. Admission is free by reservation.

At MAXXI in Rome, Kentridge and Miller's film-concert between images, music and history

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