Previous Exhibitions

ArtLab Fall 2012

September 13 – December 30, 2012

At the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, we believe that looking at artwork is a starting point for creative and meaningful dialogue. As such, MOCA’s Butler Gallery has transformed into a space of activity and exploration. We invite visitors to discover, create or just relax. …

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ARTLab at MOCA.

SkillQuest 2012

October 2-November 4, 2012

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 seventeenth year to exhibit the work of these talented artists. This year’s exhibit includes more than 300 pieces of artwork, including paintings, collages, hand-sewn items, clay sculpture and wheel-thrown pottery …

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Instagratification: Christine Michalka-Marahrens

September 13 – December 30, 2012

Virginia Beach’s landscape takes center stage in the work of photographer Christine Michalka-Marahrens. The artist’s approach steps beyond the traditional and into the cyber world. She presents her work through a smart phone application called Instagram. A native of Germany, the artist spent the past three years in Virginia Beach with her husband, a German Air Force officer who was working for NATO. Through a practiced eye she has explored the local landscape using traditional photographic techniques with different photography apps that she downloaded to her iphone. The resulting images reveal the elegant beauty to be found in Virginia Beach shared world-wide through online communities…

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Instagratification: Christine Michalka-Marahrens

Christine Michalka-Marahrens at MOCA.

Martin & Munoz

September 13 – December 30, 2012

Artists Walter Martin & Paloma Muñoz create large-scale photomontages and 9-inch tall snow globes that reveal landscapes that harbor sinister secrets. Landscapes covered in darkness with a wintry blanket of snow set the stage for a narrative to unfold. The artists begin with the tiny figures that often inhabit the small worlds of snow globes and model trains. They are physically transformed to tell stories that have taken an odd and sinister turn. The scenes are vaguely evocative of a Hitchcock film or the dark comedy Fargo. They also hint at the fears that are encountered living in contemporary society. MEDIA PULSE Article …

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Martin & Muñoz at MOCA.

woman on the run

September 13 – December 30, 2012

As dusk settles upon a sleepy little town, a lone woman checks herself into a seedy motel for the night. Her name is Veronica Hayden and she is on the run. Her husband, Victor Hayden, has gone missing. Rather than submit to police questioning, Veronica has gone into hiding. A private eye is hot on her trail, forcing her to keep on the move. Veronica Hayden’s story and her reasons for running away are hinted at in this multi-media exhibition. The narrative of her life is presented in fragments. Details can be found in the miniature-scale town, video projections revealing snippets of Hayden’s trail and in clues left behind in the full-scale motel room. Presented in the style of film noir, …

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