Previous Exhibitions

ARTlab Winter/Spring 2016

January 30 - April 22, 2016

Explore the new exhibitions hands-on in ARTlab! The Butler Gallery (ARTlab) is a space for all ages to discover current exhibiting artists and their processes through interactive activities, fun facts, art making stations and reading materials provided by the Virginia Beach Public Library. Experience MOCA’s Winter/Spring exhibitions through the ARTlab, an interactive space for all ages. Help create an oyster reef inspired by the exhibitions, learn about coral reefs, discover how you can help your local waterways and create your own water inspired artwork. MOCA would like to thank Lynnhaven River Now and Courtney Mattison for their assistance with ARTlab. Organizations featured in ARTlab:…

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ARTlab Spring 2016

New Waves 2016

January 30 - April 17, 2016

The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is pleased to present its annual juried exhibition, New Waves 2016. 282 artists from across Virginia submitted work and proved, yet again, that the Commonwealth contains a rich and vast array of artistic talent. This exciting exhibition demonstrates the diversity of materials and approaches that are used in contemporary art today. Juror: This year’s juror is Jan Tumlir. Jan Tumlir is an art-writer and professor based in Los Angeles. He is a founding editor of the local art journal X-TRA, and his articles appear regularly in Artforum and Flash Art. He has written catalog essays for such artists as Bas Jan Ader, Uta Barth, John Divola, James W…

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Installation view of New Waves 2015 at Virginia MOCA. Photo by Glen McClure

Just Add Water: Short Animated Film Exhibition

January 30 - April 17, 2016

Those of us who live in Southeastern Virginia understand our dependence on its waterways. Access to the Atlantic Ocean and river inlets are not just means of economic and physical sustenance for the region, but for the entire country. With that in mind, our Winter exhibition series explores and celebrates humanity’s dependence on this vital resource. MOCA will present a contemporary animated short film exhibition celebrating filmmakers who include water as a significant role. Each film takes a different approach to both storytelling and animation. They all incorporate different facets of the relationship we all have to this essential element. It gives us life, shapes our surroundings, dict…

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Just Add Water: Short Animated Film Exhibition

Bottle (Still). Written, directed and, animated by Kristen Lepore. Courtesy of Kristen Lepore

John Rudel: Absorb, Resist, Edit, and Seek

January 30 - April 17, 2016

EXHIBITION OPENING RECEPTION - JAN 29th 6:30-8:30PM Digital culture has changed the way society views the world. Imagery from little flat screens inundates our lives. At some point we have to question the value of reproductions instead of looking in real time. This is the concern of artist, John Rudel. He chooses imagery that seems familiar and gives us a frame of reference as a starting point, like a crowd scene or clouds. From there, the exploration of patterns, texture, layers, form and mass begins. Time spent simply looking at a work of art becomes a meditative act. It frees the viewer from everyday distractions. Rudel created these works from found pieces of stainless steel. They ar…

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John Rudel: Absorb, Resist, Edit, and Seek

John Rudel. Calendar (Overtaken by Blue), 2015, Courtesy of the artist

Emma Knight: Flourish

December 4, 2015 - March 19, 2016

Opening Reception, Friday, December 4th 5-7pm at MOCA's Satellite Gallery at Towne Pavilion II in conjunction with First Friday ViBe in the new Virginia Beach Creative Arts District. An encounter with one of artist Emma Knight’s paintings is a chance to reflect and explore. Her canvases reveal an atmospheric sensibility. The landscapes are real locales, most are in Virginia. But under Knight’s careful eye, they have dissolved down into slippery, undulating forms. Line, shape and color work in concert to evoke the mood of a place and time rather than clear and detached details. The process to create one of the paintings is painstaking. In an effort to preserve the environments she…

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