Previous Exhibitions

Satellite Gallery: The Art of the ViBe

March 30 to September 22, 2018

The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is a proud supporter of the ViBe Creative District. MOCA’s commitment to local artists and our creative community inspired this exhibition. This exhibition highlights several of the artists who share their artwork with us in the ViBe Creative District. Each artist plays a significant role in improving, engaging, and innovating within our community. The Art of the ViBe is a wonderful way for all of us to connect, collaborate, and celebrate creativity! Artists: Marlowe Emerson Parrish Majestic Reba McConnell Cat Peterson / Flydog Ceramics OnieTonie™ by Troy Summerell Allison Termine Victoria Weiss Kelsey Witt Organized by The Virginia Mu…

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Marlowe Emerson. Printemps, 2017. Mixed media on canvas. 48 x 48 inches. Courtesy of the artist.

Lightbulb moments

March 17 - August 19, 2018

MOCA celebrates creativity within the visual arts and beyond with our animation exhibition entitled, Lightbulb Moments. In our society, everything moves forward with innovation: culture, communication, technology, and travel. But we cannot innovate without creativity and imagination. Making new connections and ideas moves us forward both in our communities and as a species. In the past few years, there have been growing concerns regarding the American Educational system and its ability to foster creativity in children. While there are no easy answers, we can explore the questions together with the artists of this animated exhibition. Animation provides a broad space for these artists to expl…

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Rhiannon Evans. Fulfilament (film still). Courtesy of the artist.

Community Gallery: Melissa Schappell: Environmental Factors

March 17 - August 19, 2018

Opening Reception: Friday, March 16. 6:30-8:30pm Artist Melissa Schappell recognizes the power of art to spark conversation about a challenging subject, our mental health. She channels her personal struggles with an anxiety disorder into her art. Schappell breaks down societal stigmas surrounding mental health by encouraging dialogue around issues of common concern. EnvironMENTAL Factors focuses on the external influences that can affect our mental health. Schappell draws from firsthand experiences, extensive medical research, and the personal stories of others to explore the impact of PTSD, childhood trauma, and prenatal stress to name a few. She combines drawing, painting, and collage into…

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Community Gallery: Melissa Schappell: Environmental Factors

Melissa Schappell. Urban Pollution, 2017. Mixed media. 22 x 30 inches. Courtesy of the artist.

When the Water Rises: Recent Paintings by Julie Heffernan

September 22 - December 30, 2018

Julie Heffernan’s recent paintings create alternative habitats in response to environmental disaster and planetary excess. With rising waters, she imagines worlds in trees or on rafts in which undulating mattresses, tree boughs, and road signs guide the journey. Construction cones interrupt the landscape signaling places to stop, enter tiny interior worlds, and reflect on the human condition—its feckless activity, violence, failure, and redemption. Heffernan tends these alternative environments to safeguard bounties we cannot live without. In other moments, she names names and points fingers to those people and activities implicated in recent calamities of both the physical and socio-pol…

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When the Water Rises: Recent Paintings by Julie Heffernan

Julie Heffernan. Camp Bedlam, 2016. Oil on canvas. 68x104 inches. Courtesy of Catharine Clark Gallery

satellite gallery: jason stick: night shift

October 19, 2017 - March 17, 2018

Night time has the power to change our perspective. What might seem ordinary under the harsh glare of daylight, can become eerie and unknown under a night sky. Photographer Jason Stick recognizes the allure held by the cover of night. In the evening, he prowls his own neighborhood, discovering the magical in the mundane. A pile of rocks, a clump of flowers, or a forgotten decoy reveal a luminous beauty under the light shone by Stick’s steady hand. Just as a painter chooses specific elements to create a landscape or still-life, Stick manipulates dark and light to cut away visual noise. He guides a light to give shape to his composition and to direct our eye. A shift in viewpoint, with a dis…

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