Art Madrid'24 – BIll Viola video art floods the Guggenheim

 

 

 

Going Forth By Day, 2002. “The Deluge” 

 

 

Bill Viola (New York, 1951) was graduated from Syracuse University in 1973. He has been an essential figure in the field of contemporary video art. He has created installations, video/films, sound environments, flat panel video pieces and works for concerts, opera and sacred spaces. Influenced by classical painting and by both Eastern and Western culture (Zen Buddhism and Christian mysticism), he works on universal human themes such as time, life and death and passions. Through them he tries to describe our experience in the world.

 

 

Catherine’s Room, 2001

 

 

Viola’s artistic career has been developed at the same time of media technologies. He has worked closely with Kira Perov, his wife and collaborator. Within his first videos, we find `The reflecting pool´, that describes the emergence of the individual into the natural world; or `Four Songs´, which presents musical narratives that explore the psychological/emotional dynamics of the individual. In the 80´s, he made projects for broadcast television. Afterwards, he developed whole room installations that immerse the viewer in images and sound. During 90´s, he introduced sculptural objects, like his huge rotating screen from his `Slowly Turning Narrative´, of 1992. In this piece, the room and all persons within it become a continually shifting projection screen, enclosing the image and its reflections, and all locked into the regular cadence of the chanting voice and the rotating screen.

 

 

Surrender, 2001

 


With the arrival of the high-definition flat screens, Viola began to produce small and medium-format pieces in a series he titled the `Passions´. Among them, we can find `Catherine’s Room´, 2001, a view into the privacy of a solitary woman who goes about a series of daily rituals. Last decade pieces still reflect his existential thinking. His last creation is ´Inverted birth’, that talk about birth and death through darkness and light and using fluids that symbolize the essence of life (earth, blood, milk, water and air).

 

 

Tristan’s Ascension, 2005

 

 

Bill Viola´s videos, in slow motion make the spectator escape from agitated life. his from his Workshops and talks. Visitor will be able to contemplate VIola´s video-art in Guggenheim rooms until the 9th of November. Besides, exits the opportunity of attending workshops or talks in parallel.

 

 

Inverted Birth, 2014

 

 

“I paint in a completely free way, I don't have a plan, it's chaotic, but everything has a reason. I don't prepare anything before I start painting, what I paint is what I feel or try to communicate at that moment, so it changes a lot (from one work to another)”.

Chão limpo e o resto. Mixed media on canvas. 2023. Ana Malta. Courtesy of the artist.

Cultura Inquieta once again joins the experience of discovering and celebrating creative talent within the broad spectrum of artistic expressions present at Art Madrid'24. As a supporter of culture and contemporary art, its commitment to promoting and supporting emerging artists is reflected in a special initiative in this edition: highlighting and supporting the work of the REVELATION ARTIST of the 19th edition.

Só durmo na minha almofada. Mixed media on canvas. 2023. Ana Malta. Courtesy of the artist.

In this context, Ana Malta emerges into the contemporary art scene with a fresh voice and her own visual aesthetic. Born in Lisbon in 1996, Malta is a talented visual artist and freelance designer who has captivated the public with her distinctive approach and bold exploration of the beauty of everyday spaces through her investigations of color.

Her studies in Painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon, as well as her Master's Degree in Creative Industries Management at the Catholic University of Portugal in Porto, have provided a solid foundation for her artistic practice. Currently, she also collaborates in the Communication and Production Office of Carpintarias de São Lázaro - Centro Cultural e Galeria Belo-Galsterer, showing her commitment to the cultural fabric of her community. She is also part of the artistic collective VÊS.TRÊS.

Ana Malta has been recognized in several platforms and media, including the 14th Edition of QUADRANTE, Melancia Mag and the SCROLL program of the RTP2 channel. Her participation in the book (AS)ARTISTAS - Ensaio Gráfico sobre Histórias e Práticas Artísticas no Feminino and in the April 21st Edition of Nova Awareness Club underlines her impact and relevance in the contemporary art scene.

Só um é que ganha. Mixed media on canvas. 2023. Ana Malta. Courtesy of the artist.

Ana Malta's work is characterized by her exploration of color, patterns, composition, and texture. These elements are not only vehicles of her plastic and visual expression, but also embody an intimate dialogue between aesthetic restlessness and the transformation of error into opportunity.

It is exciting to see Ana Malta make her debut at Art Madrid'24, represented by Galeria São Mamede (STAND B3). Her presence promises to further enrich the artistic experience of the event, inviting the public to approach the visually captivating and conceptually stimulating universe that the artist creates to narrate the chaos she rearranges in shapes and colors.

Não fico pendurada. Mixed media on canvas. 2023. Ana Malta. Courtesy of the artist.

In a world in constant movement, Ana Malta reminds us of the importance of experimentation and continuous exploration in the search for authentic and sincere artistic expression.

Her work has been REVEALED to us in the 19th edition of ART MADRID, thanks to the precise point of view of CULTURA INQUIETA as a testimony of the transforming power of art. In her hands, the entropy of forms brings us the possible memory of an endless summer; the luminosity of the sun becomes the caress of everyday life; we may even be surprised by the formula of happiness turned into a companion animal.

Ana Malta's pieces combines the restlessness of a space that appears to be in a state of chaos with the delicate synesthesia of vibrating at the velocity of light, nuances, lines and colors in her paintings.