Bill Viola Installations, Deichtorhallen Hamburg

2017 is the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's protestant reformation. An important date that is commemorated in Germany with lots of different cultural initiatives, including an exhibition by American artist Bill Viola in the spaces of the Deichtorhallen Hamburg.


Hamburg is always worth a visit, not just for its latest German architectural icon, the Elbphilharmonie by Herzog & De Meuron but also as a city of art with lots of cultural initiatives and events. These include, from 2 June to 10 September 2017, the exhibition titled “Bill Viola – Installations” in the hall for contemporary art of the Deichtorhallen Hamburg, as part of the 500th anniversary celebrations of the protestant reformation initiated in 1517 by Martin Luther.
The works by the media artist Bill Viola - whose “Electronic Renaissance” exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence ended not long ago and whose “The Raft” from the ESTM in Athens was one of the highlights at the Fridericianum for documenta14 - focus on the universal human themes of birth, death, love, emotions, spiritualism. At the Deichtorhallen you can enjoy thirteen of his film works, including 10-metre high video installations. The images of Bill Viola's “ultra-slow motion” art where the body is used as a medium for extraordinary experiences are combined with sound and visual narratives, captivating for their memorable, transcendent aura.
The architectural spaces of the darkened hall of contemporary art at the Deichtorhallen have been transformed into a 21st-century cathedral that will simultaneously become an extraordinary stage for the relevance and inspiration of the spiritual dimension in contemporary art today.
In “Bill Viola – Installations”, the archaic aesthetic of Bill Viola's art encourages visitors to ponder the fundamental questions of life and to reflect on their own existence. The exhibition is accompanied by lots of collateral events and also has a catalogue in German and English.

Christiane Bürklein

Exhibition “Bill Viola – Installations”
from 2 June to 10 September 2017 
curated by Dirk Luckow, Intendante Deichtorhallen Hamburg
Deichtorhallen Hamburg, Germany
Find out morei: http://www.deichtorhallen.de/index.php?id=514&L=1
Images: © Kira Perov, courtesy of Bill Viola Studio 
Captions:
1 and 2:
Bill Viola, Catherine’s Room, 2001