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Artist Rooms - Bill Viola

East Ayrshire Council's Arts and Museums team are delighted to be taking part in this innovative and exciting nationwide tour of contemporary art exhibitions. This exhibition by influential American contemporary video artist, Bill Viola, includes two works held in the ARTIST ROOMS collection, Catherine’s Room and Four Hands. The slow and thoughtful nature of Viola’s work considers human experience from birth through to death. Deceptively simple in style and widely engaging, Viola’s video works also reflect his deep interest in renaissance painting and photography. His pioneering use of time-based media technology continues to be a major influence on young artists across the world.


Bill Viola was born in New York in 1951 and has become a leading figure in contemporary art. He lives and works in Long Beach, California.
ARTIST ROOMS On Tour is an inspired partnership with the Art Fund – the fundraising charity for works of art, and the Scottish Government, making available the ARTIST ROOMS collection of international contemporary art to galleries throughout the UK. ARTIST ROOMS is jointly owned by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland and was established through the d’Offay Donation in 2008, with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments.
An art agent and owner of the Anthony d’Offay Gallery in London between 1980 and 2002, Anthony d’Offay worked closely with artists for over thirty years to bring together significant bodies of work. One of the guiding aims of ARTIST ROOMS is to engage young people with the art of our time in order to inspire future generations and we are pleased to offer a rare chance to see these extraordinary artworks.

(Four Hands, (detail) 2001
Black-and-white video polyptych on four LCD flat panels mounted on shelf
Performers: Blake Viola, Kira Perov, Bill Viola, Lois Stark
Photo: Kira Perov)