Bill Viola
Bill Viola, the "Rembrandt of the video age", passed away on July 12th after a long struggle with Alzheimer's Disease. I encountered his work for the first time at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1997. It was an aesthetic shock. The only similar shock I have ever had with an artist's work was with James Turrell's shaping of light and colors (for example, Skypaces: link).
Forever an inspiration.