Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Bill Viola in Miami

Bill Viola, Three Women, 2008. Color High-Definition video on plasma display mounted on wall,
61 x 36.25 x 4 inches (155.5 x 92.5 x 12.7 cm). Performers: Anika, Cornelia, Helena Ballent. Photo: Kira Perov.
Well, hot damn!  Guess I'll finally be making my way down to Miami after living in Florida for almost five full years.  Apparently this will be the only U.S. venue for this particular exhibition (although, did I dream that? I'm not seeing it in the press release now).  At any rate, below is an excerpt from the press release as seen on e-flux:

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), North Miami will present a major exhibition of work by Bill Viola, recognized as one of the leading practitioners of video art. Bill Viola: Liber Insularum will begin its sole presentation in the United States at MOCA, North Miami during Art Basel Miami Beach.  The exhibition at MOCA marks the first public presentation of Viola’s new piece Ancestors, a recently completed video work that explores the layers of reality and illusion in the physical world, as well as the dimensions between and beyond it. The exhibition Bill Viola: Liber Insularum is presented as part of MOCA’s Knight Exhibition Series. It was first shown last year at Sala de Arte Contemporaneo del Gobierno de Canarias (Spain). The exhibition is organized in collaboration with Bill Viola Studio and was curated by Roc Laseca.

An iconic contemporary artist who draws from Eastern and Western spiritual traditions, Bill Viola is known for creating immersive video installations that explore such universally human subjects as birth, death, and the nature of consciousness. His exhibition is inspired by The Book of the Islands of the Archipelago, authored by Florentine ecclesiastic Cristoforo Buondelmonti in the 15th century. The works featured in Liber Insularum (The Book of Islands) use this historic text as a reference point to engage with distinctly modern themes of spiritual isolation in a 21st-century global landscape.

Works in the exhibition
Ancestors, 2012
Three Women, 2008
Addie, 2008
Darrow, 2008
Howard, 2008
Lenny, 2008
The Raft, 2004
Observance, 2002
Catherine’s Room, 2001
Four Hands, 2001
Surrender, 2001
Unspoken (Silver & Gold), 2001
Ascension, 2000
The Quintet of the Astonished, 2000
The Reflecting Pool, 1977–79

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