American artist Invoice Viola has died in California aged 73 after a protracted battle with Alzheimer’s illness, with the information confirmed by his gallery, James Cohan.
Viola will likely be remembered for his experimental works by means of the medium of video, exploring non secular and common experiences with video installations, electrical music performances and immersive environments over a five-decade profession. Viola, who was born on 25 January 1951 in Queens, was acclaimed all through his profession, with highlights together with a two-year solo present, ‘Invoice Viola: A 25-12 months Survey’, on the Whitney Museum of American Artwork in 1997 and his illustration of america on the Venice Biennale in 1995, with the installations, Buried Secrets and techniques.
‘Most of my works haven’t any phrases, nor have they got music,’ Viola advised Wallpaper* in 2016, to mark his main present at Yorkshire Sculpture Park the identical 12 months. ‘This isn’t a deliberate try and be “accessible” however that is likely one of the constructive byproducts of working on this manner. I discover common themes with photographs that everybody can recognise and since these photographs are shifting, they draw the viewer in, leading to a private expertise of the piece. Shifting photographs take time, and that’s what I hope I may give to the viewer; time for reflection and most significantly, for self-reflection.’
For Viola, who typically drew on non secular themes when contemplating questions of life, loss of life and what comes afterwards, video was an finally uplifting technique of exploration. ‘Spirituality and faith aren’t all the time the identical factor. When faith turns into dogma and a instrument for energy and suppression, it’s now not faith, neither is it non secular. I’ve to be constructive – in any case, simply in the previous few many years Tibetan Buddhism has gone from being the faith of 1 small nation to being practised worldwide, and it is a faith that teaches peace and compassion. Those that want to hear will study and can practise. The function of the artist is to explain the human soul; it is a crucial contribution in making an attempt to determine who we’re.’
Viola is survived by Kira Perov, his spouse, long-time collaborator and government director of Invoice Viola Studio, and their two kids.
Supply: Wallpaper
