Bill Viola's 'Purification' at Palazzo Reale, Palermo

The exhibition 'Purification [from Bill Viola to the Palatine Chapel]' at Palazzo Reale in Palermo presents five video works by Bill Viola (1951, New York) in dialogue with Sicilian artworks from the 6th century BCE to the 18th century. Curated by Kira Perov, executive director of Bill Viola Studio, and the Fondazione Federico II, the show features 'Tristan’s Ascension' and the 'Martyrs' series ('Air Martyr', 'Earth Martyr', 'Fire Martyr', 'Water Martyr'), the latter originally installed at St Paul’s Cathedral in London in May 2014. The exhibition explores themes of catharsis, meditation, and rebirth through the element of water. Historical objects include baptismal fonts, altarpieces, statues, and holy water stoups from Sicilian museums and churches, such as 17th-century silk and coral 'paliotti' from Palazzo Abatellis, a marble statue of 'Temperance' (1485) by Domenico Gagini from the Museo Diocesano of Mazara del Vallo, and a crouching Aphrodite (2nd–1st century BCE) from the Museo Archeologico 'Pietro Griffo' in Agrigento. The exhibition runs from July 10, 2021 to February 28, 2022. Gianfranco Miccichè, president of the Sicilian Regional Assembly and Fondazione Federico II, stated that Viola represents the continuity between past and present. Alberto Samonà, assessor for Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity, described the show as an extraordinary journey into the soul.