If you're in Berlin or will be passing through between 01.09 and 02.21.09, stop by Haunch of Venison to see American video artist Bill Viola's first solo show there in 6 years.

The exhibition includes the large-scale video/sound installation The Messenger (1996). It depicts the continual rising and sinking of a male figure as he slowly journeys between a blue-black underwater realm and the bright daylight of the world above its surface.

New works will also be presented from the Transfigurations series - a cyclical progression of images that describe a series of encounters at the intersection between life and death. The first in this series was the three channel installation Ocean Without a Shore (2007) created for the 52nd Venice Biennale. In Berlin the works shown will be single and multiple channel pieces, with one piece, Small Saints (2008), using six tiny LED screens, a new technology with special luminance.

Read more about the installation and screenings here. Don't forget to checkout this page with a listing of Viola's vidoes that are available online for viewing.

Bill Viola is considered a pioneer in the medium of video art and is internationally recognized as one of today's leading artists. He has been instrumental in the establishment of video as a vital form of contemporary art, and in so doing has helped to greatly expand its scope in terms of technology, content, and historical reach. For over 35 years he has created videotapes, architectural video installations, sound environments, electronic music performances, flat panel video pieces, and works for television broadcast. Read his full bio here.

If you've never seen his work, you're missing out.

Bill Viola
Installation and Screenings
Haunch of Venison Berlin
01.09 - 02.21.09