ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Bill Viola's Renaissance Dialogue at Palazzo Strozzi

exhibition · 2026-04-27

Bill Viola's exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence juxtaposes his video works with original Renaissance masterpieces. The show pairs Viola's The Greeting with Pontormo's Visitation, and Emergence with Masolino da Panicale's Pietà. Water serves as a recurring amniotic element, blending Christian and Eastern spirituality. The Deluge (Going Forth By Day) reinterprets Paolo Uccello's Flood as a metaphor for modern life. Viola, a key figure in video art after Nam June Paik, began this iconographic research after the 1995 Venice Biennale. His works evolve from simple poetic pieces like The Reflecting Pool (1979) to complex meta-cinematic installations addressing contemporary pain and uncertainty.

Key facts

  • Bill Viola was born in New York in 1951.
  • The exhibition is at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence.
  • The Greeting is based on Pontormo's Visitation.
  • Emergence confronts Masolino da Panicale's work.
  • The Deluge reinterprets Paolo Uccello's Flood.
  • Viola worked with Nam June Paik.
  • He participated in the 1995 Venice Biennale.
  • The Reflecting Pool was created in 1979.

Entities

Artists

  • Bill Viola
  • Pontormo
  • Masolino da Panicale
  • Paolo Uccello
  • Andrea di Bartolo
  • Nam June Paik
  • Julian Schnabel
  • Jeff Koons
  • Lorenzo Taiuti
  • Donatello
  • Michelangelo
  • Phil Esposito
  • Maria Gloria Bicocchi
  • Kira Petrov
  • Marta Santacatterina
  • Giulio Paolini
  • Jannis Kounellis
  • Gino De Dominicis
  • Mario Merz
  • Joan Jonas
  • Terry Fox
  • Vito Acconci
  • Bob Biliecki
  • Kira Perov

Institutions

  • Palazzo Strozzi
  • Artribune
  • Accademia di Belle Arti di Torino
  • Accademia di Belle Arti di Milano
  • Facoltà di Architettura Roma
  • Pieve di San Michele di Carmignano
  • art/tapes/22
  • Museo di Santa Maria Novella
  • Museo dell'Opera del Duomo
  • Bill Viola Studio
  • Palazzo Reale
  • Art/tapes/22
  • St. Paul's Cathedral
  • Skira
  • Arthemisia
  • Getty
  • Municipality of Milan-Culture

Locations

  • New York
  • Florence
  • Italy
  • Taormina
  • Venice
  • United States
  • Carmignano
  • Milan
  • London
  • United Kingdom

Sources