Previous Exhibitions

Ryan McGinness: Studio Visit

January 31 - April 19, 2015

Ryan McGinness: Studio Visit explores the creative process of a Virginia Beach native and artist. In 2009, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) commissioned a work inspired by the museum’s collection. The result is a 16-panel painting containing 200 icons that reference works from the VMFA. We now have an opportunity to see how McGinness conceived and created this stunning work. There are three parts to this exhibition. The first provides a glimpse of McGinness’ studio practice. Listen to his favorite playlist as you see the artist screenprint the final work! The second shows early artworks he made while growing up in Virginia Beach. Finally, you can see some of the objects McGinn…

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Ryan McGinness, Art History Is Not Linear (VMFA) 1, 2010, Acrylic on panels. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond. National Endowment for the Arts Fund for American Art. © 2014 Ryan McGinness / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Donna Iona Drozda: Roots and Wings

November 20, 2014 – March 16, 2015

As an artist, author and educator Donna Iona Drozda impacts many lives through her artwork and teaching. Her work includes vibrant and complex acrylic paintings and mixed media works of art. For the artist, they are a means to celebrate life and its idiosyncrasies. Each piece fuses images from nature with brilliant colors, textures, patterns and symbols. What results is a cohesive vision of personal stories, beliefs and shared human experience. Within each narrative is an invitation to explore. Soon, you will discover and appreciate the world through Drozda's beautiful outlook. This exhibition is organized by The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). MOCA would like to thank Donna Io…

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Donna Iona Drozda. Coppice 1, 2014. Mixed Media. Courtesy of the artist

SkillQuest 2014

October 1 - November 3, 2014

SkillQuest is a day activity program for adults with developmental disabilities run by the City of Virginia Beach. The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is delighted to partner with SkillQuest for the eighteenth year to exhibit the work of these talented artists. This year’s exhibit includes more than 200 pieces of artwork, including paintings, collages, hand-sewn items, clay sculpture and wheel-thrown pottery. MEDIA: AIC Artist Inclusion Company BEAM Magazine The WorldNews (WN) Network VBGov.com …

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Prisms 2014

September 7-23, 2014

A collection of student artwork from MOCA's Summer Art Camp! …

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Gabriel Dawe: Plexus 28

September 12- December 28, 2014

When you see one of artist Gabriel Dawe’s installations for the first time, several metaphors may spring to mind. Spider webs and rainbows are both a common analogy for his work. This is easy to understand. The artist uses many miles of colored thread to weave his installations. Dawe manufactured a large needle-like tool to hook and move the thread, which forms patterns that mimic beams of light through a prism. Each installation takes tremendous amounts of time, patience and deliberation. The result, as you can see, is simply spectacular. Plexus 28 took approximately 60 miles of thread to create. A native of Mexico City, Gabriel Dawe has exhibited his work throughout the world including…

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