Bill Viola: The Raft

Bill Viola (1951–2024) was a trailblazer in new media, video, and installation art. For over 50 years, his immersive video environments explored profound human themes like birth, death, and consciousness, often inspired by Zen Buddhism, Sufism, and Christian mysticism.

This exhibition centers on Viola’s large-scale video installation “The Raft”(2004), commissioned for the Athens Olympics and now shown in New York for the first time. “The Raft” shows a diverse group of nineteen people struck by sudden, powerful blasts of water. Some are knocked down, others brace themselves, and all struggle as the unprovoked deluge batters them. The scene captures a raw struggle for survival, as individuals cling together against the relentless force, only to be left shaken and exhausted when the water recedes. Viewers experience the event in a darkened room, surrounded by the roaring sounds of water.