Gary Hill

Internationally known for his pioneering research in the field of video art, Gary Hill has produced video installations and sound works since the 1970s that have deepened the relationship between sound, image, and language. Working initially as a sculptor, Hill studied at the Art Students League of New York before being introduced to video at Woodstock Community Video in 1973. He explored the formal properties of this new form of expression, playing with the juxtaposition of visual, electronic and sound elements. Sculpture remains an integral part of many of his video installations, as seen in the structural elements of Hole in the Wall (1974), or Dervish (1993-1995), which is part of the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal collection. Known for his experimental rigor, Hill examines the effects of sensorial or temporal perception, and focuses his work on viewer interactivity. Inspired by the writings of Maurice Blanchot, Martin Heidegger, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Lewis Carroll, he systematically deconstructs video, subverting its codes and semantics to articulate an electronic language that is unique to the medium. Thought process and the relationship between time, consciousness, and written or spoken language are at the core of his practice; a body of work that is most concretely manifested in the physical and mental experience of the viewer.