Words and Images Courtesy of Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art
VIRGINIA BEACH, October 19, 2021 – On November 27, 2021, the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (Virginia MOCA) opens Made in VA, Shaping Memories: Expressions in Clay, and Agnes Grochulska: Archetypes with continued free admission provided by the Goode Family Foundation for the duration of the exhibitions. The exhibitions will close March 6, 2022.
MADE IN VA
The Virginia MOCA commitment to the creative community of the Commonwealth is anchored by a 25-year tradition of the annual presentation of work by artists living and working in Virginia. Made in VA, formerly New Waves, is juried by a curator with a national purview, providing Virginia artists with often hard-to-achieve national visibility. This year, Grace Deveney, associate curator of the triennial Prospect New Orleans and newly appointed associate curator of photography and media at the Art Institute of Chicago, selected the work of 30 artists to include in Made in VA from the 400 that applied. The juried show was renamed Made in VA in a nod to the Hammer Museum’s Made in LA biennial, which features the work of emerging and underrecognized artists from the LA region.
“It is more than just a name change. Made in VA is a renewed and expanded commitment to the range of artists working in our Commonwealth,” said Virginia MOCA Deputy Director Alison Byrne.
“There were so many wonderful submissions to Made in VA,” said Juror Grace Deveney. “It was truly a pleasure to learn more about Virginia’s rich artistic communities. I was struck by the thoughtful and sincere investigations of self, culture, and society that are embodied in the selected artists’ practices.”
SHAPING MEMORIES: EXPRESSIONS IN CLAY
The power of memory is immeasurable. Individual recollections are the building blocks of our sense of self, while collective memories help define our culture. In this exhibition—Shaping Memories: Expressions in Clay—six artists use clay to explore not only formative moments in their lives, but also stories passed down through generations, inviting viewers to consider both the uniqueness of every individual and our shared identities.
Featured artists for this exhibition include Pattie Chalmers, Roberto Lugo, Hollie Lyko, Jiha Moon, Rae Stern, and Ehren Tool.
AGNES GROCHULSKA: ARCHETYPES
In this new body of work, Richmond-based painter Agnes Grochulska uses the concept of archetypes, proposed by famed psychologist Carl Jung, as a starting point in her investigations. Each archetype defines a character with meanings prescribed by Jung, and in this work, Grochulska puts forth her interpretation of the archetypes while encouraging viewers of the work to do the same. Grochulska was born and raised in Poland, studying design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Her work is exhibited and privately collected throughout the U.S. and Europe.
ABOUT THE VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART
Virginia MOCA is an ever-changing museum where neighbors, strangers, students, families, communities, and cultures are invited to explore our shared humanity, through locally relevant and nationally resonant, contemporary art that’s exceptional—in all of its timeliness, restlessness, and beauty.
Virginia MOCA is one of the few accredited, non-collecting contemporary art museums in the United States.
MADE IN VA ARTISTS (ALPHABETICAL BY CITY)
Janelle Washington | Alexandria | | Vivian Chiu | Henrico |
Marisa Stratton | Arlington | | Chlo Finley | Henrico |
Shara Appanaitis | Blacksburg | | Caitlin Blomstrom | Newport News |
Federico Cuatlacuatl | Charlottesville | | Kay Darling | North Chesterfield |
Lou Haney | Charlottesville | | Austin Miles | Petersburg |
Russell Richards | Charlottesville | | Ray Johnson | Portsmouth |
Sarah Boyts Yoder | Charlottesville | | Suzanna Fields | Richmond |
Megan Angolia | Chesterfield | | Riley Goodman | Richmond |
Nikki Painter | Chesterfield | | Linda Hollett-Bazouzi | Richmond |
David Bohnhoff | Columbia | | Robert Schultz | Salem |
Cedric Baker | Dale City | | Kadija Corinaldi | Virginia Beach |
Gregory Hennen Dyke | Dyke | | Eirene Espinoza | Virginia Beach |
Brittany Beach | Gainesville | | Katie Prock | Virginia Beach |
Chongyuan Du | Glen Allen | | John Alan Stock | Virginia Beach |
Donna Cooper Hurt | Hardy | | Brian Kreydatus | Williamsburg |