On July 12, 2024, Bill Viola died at the age of 73 due to complications related to Alzheimer’s disease.
A statement via Instagram said, “It is with great sadness that Bill Viola Studio shares news of the death of Bill Viola, one of the world’s leading contemporary artists. He passed away peacefully at home on July 12th, at the age of 73. The cause was Alzheimer’s Disease. Viola is survived by his wife and longtime creative collaborator, Kira Perov, Director of Bill Viola Studio, sons Blake and Andrei Viola, daughter-in-law Aileen Milliman, brother Robert Viola, and sister Andrea Freeman.”
Born on Jan. 25, 1951, Viola grew up in Queens, New York, and Westbury, New York and graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor in Fine Arts in experimental studies. He then studied at the College of Visual and Performing Art and from 1973 to 1980, Viola studied and performed with composer David Tudor.
He went on to become one of the most influential video artists of his generation and worked in many different settings including opera.
Among his most famous works was “The Tristan Project,” which he collaborated with director Peter Sellars. For that project he created video sequences to be shown as a backdrop to the action on stage during the performance of Wagner’s opera “Tristan und Isolde.” The piece was first performed in Los Angeles at Disney Hall in 2004and later at the Bastille Opera in Paris in April and in November 2005.
It would also be shown in New York and Rotterdam.
In 2004, Viola began work on a new production of Richard Wagner’s opera “Tristan und Isolde,” a collaboration with director Peter Sellars, conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, and executive producer Kira Perov. The production premiered at the Opéra National de Paris in 2005 and Viola’s video work was also shown as “LOVE/DEATH The Tristan Project” at the Haunch of Venison Gallery and St Olave’s School, London, in 2006 and at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles in 2007.
