Articles

Bill Viola / Michelangelo

Bill Viola, Fire Angel

RA Exhibitions

< 4 years ago

What would Michelangelo make of Bill Viola?

With the work of contemporary artist Bill Viola on show alongside works by Michelangelo, the exhibition’s co-curator imagines what the Renaissance master might have had to say about it, in a fictional letter to his nephew…

RA Exhibitions

4 years ago

A beginner’s guide to Bill Viola

Bill Viola is considered one of the most important artists of his generation. As the RA prepares to show his vast, immersive installations alongside works by Michelangelo, it’s time to brush up on your knowledge of this American video art pioneer.
Michelangelo Buonarroti, The Risen Christ (detail)

RA Exhibitions

4 years ago

Bill Viola / Michelangelo: finding the language of emotion

We asked four writers to respond to key themes in ‘Bill Viola / Michelangelo’. On the subject of emotional states, novelist Deborah Levy asks what it means to surrender to our most intense and incoherent feelings.
Bill Viola, Man Searching for Immortality/Woman Searching for Eternity

RA Exhibitions

4 years ago

Bill Viola / Michelangelo: art as a search for meaning

We asked four writers to respond to key themes in ‘Bill Viola / Michelangelo’. On the subject of mortality, the former bishop Richard Holloway writes that art and religion are driven onwards by the fact of our death.
Michelangelo Buonarroti, Archers Shooting at a Herm (detail)

RA Exhibitions

4 years ago

Bill Viola / Michelangelo: expressing the inexpressible

We asked four writers to respond to key themes in ‘Bill Viola / Michelangelo’. On the subject of transcendence, poet and novelist Ben Okri argues that art’s power lies where understanding leaves off, beyond thought and word.
Helene Schjerfbeck, Self-Portrait, Black Background (detail)

RA Exhibitions

> 4 years ago

Introducing our 2019 exhibitions at the Royal Academy of Arts

From the genius of the Renaissance to immersive new work created specially for our galleries, next year’s exhibitions promise to exhilarate and inspire. The RA’s Artistic Director, Tim Marlow, introduces our packed programme for 2019.