In Memory of Bill Viola

We were deeply saddened to learn of the death of the artist Bill Viola (1951-2024).

Born in New York in 1951, Viola made pioneering contributions to new media art, particularly video art, over the last five decades.
His work is characterized by an exploration of fundamental human experiences such as birth, death and the unfolding of consciousness. Combining the history of painting with the possibilities of new technologies, he has been able to express these themes in ways that resonate deeply with the viewer.

Bill Viola has been closely associated with ZKM since the 1990s: In 1993 he received the Media Art Prize of the ZKM and the Siemens Cultural Programme. In 1997 he realized the interactive installation »Tree of Knowledge« with the support of ZKM and KIT. The ZKM collection also holds 28 works by Bill Viola.

The ZKM remembers Bill Viola with gratitude and admiration.