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  • Honey-Pierre-Bloodline

    Mar 18-Apr 17, 2022 Honey Pierre Bloodline Mar 18-Apr 17, 2022 Honey Pierre, Morning Juice , 2022. Acrylic, oil, pastel, and yarn. 48 x 62 in. Presented in partnership w/ Museum of Creative Human Art and moCa Cleveland Cassandra Hickey (b. 1993, Cleveland, OH), also known as Honey Pierre, is one of four children from Rhonda Harris. Cassandra has always been interactive in art activities but her real introduction to art was through fashion magazines, which gave her the urge to draw illustrations everyday. From there, Cassandra learned to express herself through art by learning to work with new mediums and techniques. She was encouraged by a local high school teacher, which grew her confidence. Instead of attending college or an institute for the arts, she chose to join the United States Army. For the next three years, Cassandra’s life was dedicated to serving her country. Once the contract was up, she fed her urge to become an artist full time. Moving from Cleveland to Atlanta was a transition but it supported her journey towards more creative outlets. In two years, Cassandra has participated in over 40 art exhibitions and events and is a part of two community based non-profits. She is a mixed media artist whose practice includes murals, textiles, collage, and painting. Presented in partnership w/ Artist Statement Honey Pierre Honey Pierre The women in our lives are given the often-thankless duty of caring for many people, both physically and emotionally, while maintaining a loving, nurturing spirit. It’s obvious to most that a woman will sacrifice her own aspirations in favor of supporting their loved ones. The women in my family– my aunts, grandmother, and mother–have all had an unmatched influence on my life path. They put me in a position to be myself and develop my natural inclination and passion for the arts. They believed I could do anything I aspired to, and this exhibition has been inspired by these very sacrifices. I have created a series of carefully woven Fiber Portraits of each of these highly influential women in my life. Each piece is unique, with a wide spectrum of bright colors while sustaining a motherly warmth. The most important aspect of this exhibit is that it exudes the love and care that has gone into the work. I’d like you to feel at home when experiencing these pieces as I have, the many times I have explored this museum. I am very excited for my art to reach more souls and hope each individual can find solace here in the same way I have.

  • Manabu-Ikeda-Flowers-From-the-Wreckage

    Feb 2-May 26, 2024 Manabu Ikeda Flowers from the Wreckage Feb 2-May 26, 2024 Manabu Ikeda, Rebirth , 2013-16 pen, acrylic ink and transparent watercolour on paper, mounted on board, 118.11 x 157.48 in, collection of Saga Prefectural Art Museum. Digital Archive: TOPPAN PRINTING CO., LTD. ©️IKEDA Manabu, Courtesy Mizuma Art Gallery, Tokyo / Singapore Organized and circulated by the Audain Art Museum, Whistler, BC, Canada, with the generous support from the Audain Foundation. This exhibition is curated by Kiriko Watanabe, Gail & Stephen A. Jarislowsky Curator, Audain Art Museum. About the Exhibition The first North American retrospective of its kind, Manabu Ikeda: Flowers from the Wreckage presents over 50 works from the past 25 years. Seeking inspiration from his surroundings, Ikeda (born 1973, Saga, Japan; lives and works in Madison, WI) brings attention and inspiration to viewers while sending warnings about the painful reality of environmental disasters. Central to his practice are metaphors of grief and the undeniable aspects of life, including the fundamental forces of Mother Nature. Ikeda’s drawings also reveal human resilience and the ability to rise above devastating situations when it appears impossible. Organized by the Audain Art Musuem (Whistler, Canada) and curated by Kiriko Watanabe, Gail & Stephen A. Jarislowsky Curator, the show includes several of Ikeda’s renowned monumental works including Foretoken (2008), Meltdown (2013), and Rebirth (2013-16). In each of his works, Ikeda painstakingly constructs worlds that are both profoundly familiar and yet beyond comprehension, inspiring and awe-inspiring in equal measure. The artist created Meltdown and Rebirth as a response to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the most devastating earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power disaster in the country’s recorded history. moCa Cleveland's presentation of this exhibtion marks its United States debut. Presenting sponsor Lead support from Lead support for Manabu Ikeda's Artist Residency and related programming Installation Images Manabu Ikeda: Flowers from the Wreckage . Installation views at moCa Cleveland, 2024. Photos: Jacob Koestler Artist Residency Manabu Ikeda Manabu Ikeda will be in residence at moCa multiple times during the exhibition, working on a new, monumental drawing in a temporary studio within moCa's Mueller Family Gallery. For a full list of dates, visit moCa's Events page. About the Audain Art Museum Established in 2016, the Audain Art Museum (AAM) is a leading arts organization founded upon the major philanthropic gift of Michael Audain and Yoshiko Karasawa. Located in Whistler, British Columbia and designed by the internationally-renowned firm Patkau Architects, the AAM boasts a comprehensive Permanent Collection of the province's most celebrated artists. Exemplifying the richness of cultural difference in Canada, the collection takes visitors on a transformative visual journey form the late 18th century to present. Highlights include hereditary Haida Chief James Hart's The Dance Screen (The Scream Too), an exceptional collection of historical and contemporary Indigenous masks, the largest permanent display of paintings by Emily Carr, and key examples of the Vancouver photo conceptualism movement. In addition, the Museum hosts dynamic exhibitions from around the world.

  • Qian-Li | moCa Cleveland

    Title Round Qian Li Threshold #3, 2024 Ink on rice paper 29 1/2 x 31 1/2 inches Estimated Value Range: $2,500 - $3,500 Starting Bid: $1,250 Bidding increments: $250 This work was presented in Qian Li’s recent solo exhibition at Erie Art Museum, Summoning the Wind . Using dyed rice paper, the artist creates a hypnotic layering of forms that harken to essential components of nature: womb, sun, and galaxy. Li is an internationally recognized multimedia artist whose work explores the delicate balance between opposing forces—stasis and change, the private and the public, memory and lived experience. Drawing from her upbringing in a coastal village in Qingdao, China, and her life raising a biracial family in the United States, Li creates paintings, prints, videos, and installations that blend cultural perspectives and emotional depth. Her creative vision is often rooted in dream imagery, where memory and metaphor intertwine. More: Qian Li Artist Statement “My work is a visual visualization of my abstract, and sometimes hauntingly real dreams. While dreams oftentimes tend to be random, repetitive, and purposeless, they can also reflect thoughts in a colorful, more primitive and pictorial form. I see dreams as a more truthful and vivid representation—a metaphor in a reality and the study of the human psyche. My childhood years in the hospital, my traditional Chinese family environment, and that turbulent period of China all contribute to my dreams. My dreams become a desperate world, full of mental and physical pain, anxiety and restlessness, running and hiding. They are largely driven by the desire to love and to be loved, the desire for peace, and the balance of life and death.” Biography Born in Qingdao, China, Qian Li received her BFA from the Central Academy of Art and Design (now the Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University) in Beijing, and earned her MFA from UMass Dartmouth in Massachusetts. She is currently a full professor at Cleveland State University. Li works across multiple media, including painting, digital print, video, interactive installation, and mixed media. She has exhibited widely in the United States, Europe, and Asia, with exhibitions in Germany, China, Brazil, Turkey, Greece, Serbia, and beyond. Her work has been featured in numerous art publications and included in permanent collections in both the U.S. and China. Collections and Awards Li’s work is included in several permanent collections in the United States and China. She is a two-time recipient of the Individual Excellence Award and grant from the Ohio Arts Council (2008 and 2015), recognizing her artistic achievement and contributions to contemporary art. Bio: Born in Qingdao, China. Received BFA from the Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University in Beijing. MFA at UMass Dartmouth in Massachusetts. Qian is an associate professor at Cleveland State University.

  • Paul-Ramírez-Jonas-Public-Trust

    Oct 8-Nov 7, 2020 Paul Ramírez Jonas Public Trust Oct 8-Nov 7, 2020 Paul Ramírez Jonas, Public Trust , 2016. Marquee, table, sacred and civic texts, oaths, 950 promises from private individuals, 84 promises from public figures, graphite and paper, dimensions variable. Courtesy the artist and Now and There. Photo: Field Studio Artist Paul Ramírez Jonas’s interactive artwork Public Trust (2016–ongoing) invites participants to examine the value we grant to our words through the promises we make to each other and to ourselves. All ages are asked to make a promise, which is recorded in a drawing they can keep, and as part of the declaration, they are called on to swear—in a manner consistent with their own beliefs—that they will keep their word. Each promise is also published on a large marquee outside the museum alongside daily pledges from news headlines made by politicians, scientists, economists, and weather forecasters. Presented as part of moCa Cleveland’s exhibition F as in Frank , a show that will unfold as a series of chapters throughout 2020 and 2021, Ramírez Jonas’s Public Trust will be installed outside moCa on Toby’s Plaza from October 8 through November 7, 2020. Activated during the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election (on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 12–4PM), the piece offers us the opportunity to collectively shape an artwork about the promises and acts of speech that keep a society together. moCa’s exhibition F as in Frank brings artists together to reflect on the power of being frank. Defined as the willingness to speak candidly, openly, and honestly, the word “frank” reinforces the power that comes from communicating directly and sincerely to address uncomfortable truths. Thinking through the exhibition framework in an expanded way the show unfolds slowly over time, raising poignant questions about love and loss, the construction of power, our environment, and what the future holds.

  • Ruben-Ulises-Rodriguez-Montoya | moCa Cleveland

    Title Round Ruben Ulises Rodriguez Montoya Suite Pour L'invisible by Ana Roxanne , 2023 Lil mariachi sombrero from Coyoacán, dragon skin silicone, car parts found passing a dry arroyo, rabbit pelt, a black t-shirt stained with avocado oil, sequins, shards of found plexiglass 10 x 18 x 5 inches Estimated Value Range: $3,000 - $5,000 Starting Bid: $1,500 Bidding increments: $250 moCa presented Ruben Ulises Rodríguez Montoya’s first solo US exhibition, part of our Toby’s Prize series, in 2024 to great reception. Writing about the show, ArtNews noted that he is among one of few challenging dominant tastes in Latinx art, noting that his sculptures are bound to stand out. moCa will publish his first major catalog in partnership with LA-based X Artists’ Books this year. Montoya (b. 1989, Parral, Chihuahua, MX) is a multidisciplinary artist and myth-maker whose works delve into border culture, abjection, mestizaje, and the intersection of human, animal, and land. Drawing from speculative fiction, cultural mythologies, and the labor of his family, Montoya’s practice hybridizes and creates parallel worlds that interrogate violence, environmental destruction, and the erasure of communities of color. His works manifest as fantastical beings, often shaped through the lens of magical realism and Nahualismo, and invite viewers to consider how adaptation and transformation can lead to healing in a post-apocalyptic future. More: Ruben Ulises Rodriguez Montoya Artistic Practice Montoya’s sculptures and installations are created using silicone and reclaimed materials, often salvaged from deserts near his childhood home in New Mexico or the streets of Mexico City, where he currently resides. These materials come from discarded objects, providing a tactile link to a post-apocalyptic future where environmental destruction and violence have ravaged the land. Montoya views his sculptures as Nahuales —shape-shifting beings that oscillate between human and animal forms. These beings act as metaphors for the body, exploring how violence eradicates communities of color and how regeneration, decay, and transformation can provide new meanings for survival and protection. His work engages deeply with Mesoamerican cosmology and the idea of constant flux, healing, and the continuous cycles of life and death. Notable Works and Exhibitions In addition to moCa Cleveland, Montoya’s works have been showcased in solo and group exhibitions at institutions such as the Palm Springs Art Museum (CA), the Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art (AZ), and the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (VA). He has also exhibited at renowned galleries including Commonwealth and Council (Los Angeles, CA) and Sargent’s Daughters (New York, NY). His work has been reviewed in artnet news, Hyperallergic, The New York Times, and Contemporary Art Review LA. Montoya is represented by Sargent’s Daughters in New York. About the Artist Montoya graduated with an MFA in Sculpture + Extended Media from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2020. His work often addresses the boundaries between the human, the animal, and the environment, using hybridity and transformation as a metaphor for the racial and social struggles experienced by marginalized communities. His fantastical beings, inspired by themes of abjection and adaptation, highlight the dualities of beauty and horror and the ways in which violence is enacted on these communities, while also reflecting a possibility for regeneration and renewal. Selected Collections and Exhibitions Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, CA Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson, AZ Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA Company Gallery, New York, NY Sargent’s Daughters, New York, NY The Julia Stoschek Foundation, Düsseldorf, Germany moCa Cleveland (catalog publication in 2025)

  • Chrissie-Hynde | moCa Cleveland

    Title Round Chrissie Hynde Extrémal Flower, 2019 Oil on canvas 36 x 24 inches Estimated Value Range: $6,000 - $9,000 Starting Bid: $3,000 Chrissie Hynde is a true icon, both in rock music and the art world. As the founder, lead vocalist, guitarist, and legendary songwriter of The Pretenders, she redefined the genre with her unique blend of punk, new wave, reggae, and metal. Her career, spanning over four decades, is marked by resilience and creativity. From The Pretenders' groundbreaking 1979 debut album to her latest album Relentless , released 44 years later, Hynde has remained an enduring force in music despite incredible challenges. Yet, her artistic journey doesn’t stop at music. Born in Akron, and a former Kent State art student, Hynde has always felt a calling to return to painting. In 2015, Hynde began making art in earnest, bringing her bold and distinctive vision to life. Her work, featured at venues like Broadbent, London, and MASS MoCA, encompasses a diverse range of styles, from portraiture to abstraction. In Extremal Flower , Hynde portrays an imaginary scene, a floral still life floating amid various shapes. Hynde’s spontaneous approach to painting, influenced by what she sees around her, along with her whimsical and intuitive use of color, imbues artworks like this one with a sense of immediacy and energy. More: Chrissie Hynde Chrissie Hynde was born in Akron, Ohio in 1951 and attended Kent State University's art school for three years. While at Kent State she joined a band with Mark Mothersbaugh who would go on to found Devo. Hynde is better known as a founder, lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter for The Pretenders. She has been a lover of art throughout her life. Hynde says, “I always thought I would get into painting, but I got waylaid by rock ‘n’ roll. Finally, I thought, ‘Now’s the time.’ As soon as I could be alone and paint without any interruptions, I just couldn’t stop.” She rekindled a love of painting that predates her passion for music. With bold lines and a distinctive palette, Hynde’s work ricochets between portraiture, still life, landscape, and abstraction. Her work has been featured at Broadbent, MASS MoCA, and the Franklin Bowles Gallery in New York. In 2018, the collection Adding the Blue was published featuring nearly 200 original paintings.

  • Harminder-Judge | moCa Cleveland

    Title Round Harminder Judge Untitled (story vi) , 2024 Plaster, polymer, pigment, scrim, oil 9 x 9 1/2 x 1 3/8 inches Estimated Value Range: $6,000 - $9,000 Starting Bid: $4,000 This intimately-scaled “painting” embodies Harminder Judge’s masterful process, where layers of plaster and pigment are sanded and polished to reveal a surface that shifts and shimmers. Like a fleeting vision, the image comes in and out of focus, suggesting what lies just beyond the visible. A graduate of the Royal Academy, London, Judge’s work has been shown internationally, with his first U.S. solo museum exhibition currently on view at moCa Cleveland. Combining Indian neo-tantric influences with abstract expressionism, he creates artworks with rich metaphysical spirit. Courtesy The Sunday Painter More: Harminder Judge Harminder Judge (b.1982 Rotherham, UK) lives and works in London. He graduated from the Royal Academy Schools, London in 2021. Selected recent solo exhibitions include: Cliff and Cleft, Gathering, Ibiza, Spain, 2024; A Ghost Dance , Matt’s Gallery & The Sunday Painter, London, UK, 2024; Sea and Stone and Rib and Bone , Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai, India, 2023; Frieze London with The Sunday Painter, London, UK 2022; Rising Skin from Rock and Chin , The Sunday Painter, London, UK 2022; Ankles Absorbing Ash , Humber Street Gallery, Hull, UK 2022; Mountains and Mercies , galeriepcp, Paris, France 2021. Selected recent group exhibitions include: It Never Entered My Mind , Curated by Michael Sherman, Sean Kelly Gallery, LA, USA 2024; Picnic at Hanging Rock Chapter I , Sargent’s Daughters, LA, USA 2024; Curated By: Glossary , Galerie Kandlhofer, Vienna, Austria 2023; The Reason for Painting , Mead Gallery, Warwick, UK 2023; Love Letter, Pace Gallery, New York City, USA 2023; And this skin of mine , Guts Gallery, London, UK 2022; New Beginnings , Blindspot Gallery, Hong Kong, 2022; The Horror Show! , Somerset House, London, UK 2022; A Grain of Sand , The Sunday Painter, London, UK 2021; Am I Human To You? , Jugendstilsenteret & Kube Museum, Ålesund, Norway 2021; Tomorrow: London , White Cube, London, UK 2020.

  • Gala-Porras-Kim | moCa Cleveland

    Title Round Gala Porras-Kim Vessel with lip 1 , 2017 Unglazed ceramic, graphite, steel, mahogany Two parts: approx. 7.5 x 6 x 6 inches; approx. 8 x 4.5 x 4.5 inches Estimated Value Range: $12,000 - $16,000 Starting bid: $8,000 Part of her celebrated project and multivenue exhibitions focused on LACMA’s Proctor Stafford Collection, Gala Porras-Kim’s Vessel with lip 1 embodies the artist’s ongoing examination of artifact, authorship, and meaning. Winner of the 2025 Heinz Award for Art, Porras-Kim has had solo exhibitions in Mexico City, London, Seoul, and several US cities, and has been featured in the Whitney, Gwangju, Ural, and São Paulo Biennials. A Harvard Fellow and Getty Institute Artist-in-Residence, Porras-Kim occupies a vital and singular place in the contemporary canon. Courtesy of the artist and Commonwealth and Council Photo caption: Gala Porras-Kim, Vessel with lip 1 , 2017. Unglazed ceramic, graphite, steel, mahogany. Two parts: approx. 7 1/2 x 6 x 6 in; approx. 8 x 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 in. Photo: Ruben Diaz. More: Gala Porras-Kim Gala Porras-Kim (b. 1984, Bogotá) lives and works in Los Angeles and London. She received an MFA from CalArts and an MA in Latin American Studies from UCLA. She has had solo exhibitions at MUAC Kadist, Amant Foundation, Gasworks, London, and CAMSTL, and her work has been included in the Whitney and Ural Industrial Biennials (2019), and Gwangju and Sao Paulo Biennales (2021). She was a Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University (2019) and artist-in-residence at the Getty Research Institute (2020-22).

  • Dana-Oldfather-Flyfall

    Jan 28-Jun 5, 2022 Dana Oldfather Flyfall Jan 28-Jun 5, 2022 Dana Oldfather, Flyfall , 2022 (detail). Drawing, dimensions variable. Courtesy the artist Luminous and dreamlike, Dana Oldfather’s paintings depict an imagined view of the world, one that prompts an introspective look at the layers and language of the human experience. Her portrayal of women engaged in everyday actions and tasks–climbing, swinging, stumbling, sneezing, loading the washing machine–merge current events, art history, folktales, and personal experience to evoke the emotional complexities of real life situations. In Flyfall (2022), a site-responsive drawing for moCa’s Kohl Atrium, a series of female characters are intertwined with a flock of Canadian geese. Rising up the three-story wall, the hybrid creatures appear to be simultaneously flying and falling. Both resilient and defeated, free and tethered, the figures capture the inherent tension of “fight or flight”—the term for our automatic physiological reaction to an event that is perceived as mentally or physically frightening, the response that prepares us to fight or flee. The richly imagined scenario in Flyfall and the range of possible interpretations that rise to its surface offer a reminder that our present moment is distinguished by a prevailing condition of groundlessness and uncertainty. Are the women and the geese fighting or are they working together? Are they separate entities or a hybrid form? What and how are they feeling as they wrestle together? By embracing ambiguity, Oldfather reminds us that teetering off the edge can mean both the brink of collapse and the steadying of one’s step before taking flight. Both flying and falling are possible, but how we decide to interpret the story is up to us. Major support for Dana Oldfather’s Flyfall is provided by Joanne Cohen & Morris Wheeler. About the Artist Dana Oldfather Dana Oldfather currently works and lives just outside in Cleveland, Ohio. Her work has been presented at the Library Street Collective, Detroit, MI; Zg Gallery, Chicago, IL; Kathryn Markel Fine Art, New York; Red Arrow Gallery, Nashville, TN; Museum of Contemporary Cleveland; The McDonough Museum of Art in Youngstown, Youngstown, Ohio; The Carnegie Center for Art and History, New Albany, IN; and the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. She is the recipient of the William and Dorothy Yeck Award for Young Painters, two Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards, and a Satellite Fund Emergency Relief Grant from SPACES Gallery, The Warhol Foundation, and The Cleveland Foundation. Her work has been published in Beautiful/Decay, ArtMaze Magazine, and The Art of Spray by Lori Zimmer.

  • Harminder-Judge

    Jan 24-Jun 1, 2025 Harminder Judge Bootstrap Paradox Jan 24-Jun 1, 2025 Harminder Judge, Untitled (crept upon leg) (detail) 2024. Plaster, polymer, pigment, scrim, oil, 203 x 198 x 4 cm. Photo: Blythe Thea Williams Harminder Judge’s first museum exhibition in the U.S. presented at moCa Cleveland, opening January 24, explores themes of alchemy, spiritual processions, and the body’s transformation through death. Judge’s vibrant plaster and pigment works emerge from energetic lines and intuitive processes, where color is embedded into the material, merging sculpture and painting. Influenced by funeral rites and ceremonial burning, his large, dynamic pieces provide a space for powerful emotional responses while exploring the embodied connection between the physical and the spiritual. The exhibition invites viewers to engage with the power of form, color, and abstraction, prompting personal reflection and connection. Major support provided by The Sunday Painter. Generous support provided by Yuval Brisker. Installation Images Harminder Judge, Bootstrap Paradox. Installation views at moCa Cleveland, 2025. Photos: Jacob Koestler About the Artist Harminder Judge. Photo: Sorina Reiber Harminder Judge Harminder Judge (b.1982 Rotherham, UK) lives and works in London. He graduated from the Royal Academy Schools, London in 2021. Selected recent solo exhibitions include: Cliff and Cleft, Gathering, Ibiza, Spain, 2024; A Ghost Dance , Matt’s Gallery & The Sunday Painter, London, UK, 2024; Sea and Stone and Rib and Bone , Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai, India, 2023; Frieze London with The Sunday Painter, London, UK 2022; Rising Skin from Rock and Chin , The Sunday Painter, London, UK 2022; Ankles Absorbing Ash , Humber Street Gallery, Hull, UK 2022; Mountains and Mercies , galeriepcp, Paris, France 2021. Selected recent group exhibitions include: It Never Entered My Mind , Curated by Michael Sherman, Sean Kelly Gallery, LA, USA 2024; Picnic at Hanging Rock Chapter I , Sargent’s Daughters, LA, USA 2024; Curated By: Glossary , Galerie Kandlhofer, Vienna, Austria 2023; The Reason for Painting , Mead Gallery, Warwick, UK 2023; Love Letter, Pace Gallery, New York City, USA 2023; And this skin of mine , Guts Gallery, London, UK 2022; New Beginnings , Blindspot Gallery, Hong Kong, 2022; The Horror Show! , Somerset House, London, UK 2022; A Grain of Sand , The Sunday Painter, London, UK 2021; Am I Human To You? , Jugendstilsenteret & Kube Museum, Ålesund, Norway 2021; Tomorrow: London , White Cube, London, UK 2020; Our Ashes Make Great Fertilizer , Public Gallery, London, UK 2020; At Home In The Universe, Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai, India 2019 and A Plot For The Multiverse , Indigo + Madder, London, UK 2019.

  • Marcella Brown leads moCa Cleveland's Board as President

    Press Release Wednesday, August 6, 2025 Marcella Brown Leads moCa Cleveland Board as President Cleveland, Ohio— (August 5, 2025) The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (moCa) is proud to announce the appointment of Marcella Brown as the new President of its Board of Directors. Brown, who first joined moCa’s Board in 2019 and has served as Vice President since 2022, brings deep experience in nonprofit leadership, philanthropic engagement, and values-driven strategy. A champion for community and creativity, Brown was instrumental in steering the Board committee that shaped moCa’s updated mission, vision, and values. She was recently announced as the incoming Executive Director for the Rainey Institute, a Cleveland-based non-profit community arts center dedicated to engaging Cleveland’s youth through dance, drama, music, and visual arts. Brown currently serves as Vice President of Development & Communications at Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry (LMM), where she advances the agency’s vision of hope, fair chances, and stability. Her professional and volunteer leadership reflect a strong commitment to community empowerment and equity. She also serves as Board Member and Scholarship & Programs Chair for the Black Professionals Association Charitable Foundation, Co-Chair of the Board Marketing Committee for BankOn Cleveland, and Board Member of the We Raise Foundation. Named one of Crain’s Cleveland Business 2024 Notable Black Leaders, Brown is widely respected for her collaborative approach and deep belief in the power of storytelling and service. “We are thrilled to welcome Marcella as our new Board President,” said moCa’s Kohl Executive Director Megan Lykins Reich. “Her energy, warmth, and strategic insight reflect moCa’s mission to be a radically welcoming and engaging museum for all. Marcella’s leadership will further strengthen our ability to push the boundaries of artistic excellence, community connection, and cultural experimentation.” Brown expressed her enthusiasm for this next chapter, stating: “moCa now lives at the intersection of art, progress, curiosity, and community. As board chair, I am honored and humbled to invite people from communities near and far to come out and experience contemporary art, whether they seek fun, fascination, or the unfamiliar. We want to see you at moCa!” She will be joined in Board leadership by newly appointed officers: Casey Monda as Vice President, Jason Smith as Treasurer, and Jonathan Kurtz as Secretary. Together, this team will work closely with moCa’s executive staff to guide the museum’s strategic vision and community engagement goals. moCa’s outgoing President, Steve Sokany, who completes a four-year tenure, reflects on his experience: “It has been an honor and privilege to serve as moCa Cleveland's Board President for the last two years. Megan's strong leadership, coupled with the staff's efforts and the board's commitment, have aligned around our mission Art Now, in progress , to create exciting momentum that Marcella will continue to foster.” In addition to its new leadership slate, moCa is excited to welcome three new Board Members: ● Grafton Nunes , former President and CEO of the Cleveland Institute of Art ● Susan Petersen , attorney with Petersen & Petersen ● Michael Weil , PhD , owner of Foothills Gallery These new board leaders will work alongside moCa’s active and emeritus board to creatively steward the museum’s vital program, partnerships, and cultural impact. ABOUT moCa CLEVELAND For more than 50 years, the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (moCa) has played a vital role in the city’s cultural landscape. moCa is a conduit and catalyst for creativity and inspiration, offering exhibitions and programs that provide public value and make meaning of the art and ideas of our time. Since its founding in 1968, moCa has presented the works of more than three thousand artists, often through artists’ first solo shows. Soon after its founding, moCa was the first in the region to exhibit the works of many vanguard artists such as Laurie Anderson, Christo, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Adrian Piper, and Andy Warhol. Recent artist commissions and solo exhibitions include work by Tauba Auerbach, Aleksandra Domanović, Michelle Grabner, Byron Kim, Ragnar Kjartansson, Tony Lewis, Catherine Opie, Adam Pendleton, Sondra Perry, Joyce J. Scott, Do Ho Suh, Liu Wei, Renée Green, Nina Chanel Abney, Finnegan Shannon, Manabu Ikeda, and Clotilde Jiménez, among many others. MUSEUM HOURS Thursday & Friday : 1-8PM Saturday & Sunday : 11AM-5PM Holiday hours available at mocacleveland.org 2025 Institutional Sponsors Leadership donors supporting moCa's mission include gifts to Art Now: Anonymous, Yuval Brisker, Joanne Cohen & Morris Wheeler, Margaret Cohen & Kevin Rahilly, Dealer Tire, Agnes Gund, Jan Lewis, Roy Minoff, The Robert H. Reakirt Foundation, and The Sunday Painter; Connecting Audiences: Dick & Doreen Cahoon, The Cleveland Foundation, The Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation, the George Gund Foundation, The Louise H. and David S. Ingalls Foundation, Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Foundation, David & Inez Myers Foundation, PNC, the Nord Family Foundation, and Nicholas & Erin Reif; and Sustaining Pathways: The Callahan Foundation, Grosvie & Charlie Cooley, Becky Dunn, Harriet Goldberg, Google.org , the Leonard Krieger Fund of the Cleveland Foundation, the John P. Murphy Foundation, Boake Sells, and Edward Smith. moCa Cleveland also receives lead institutional support in part from the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, and the continuing support of the museum’s Board of Directors, patrons, and members. Media Contact Matthew Dennis moCa Cleveland Tel: 216.399.0077 ex.817 Cell: 216.554.7310 mdennis@mocacleveland.org Previous Next

  • Stina-Aleah-Helping-Hands

    Aug 27-Sep 26, 2021 Stina Aleah "Helping" Hands Aug 27-Sep 26, 2021 Stina Aleah, I Cannot Hear Myself , 2021, Oil on canvas, 48 x 30 in. Presented in partnership w/ Museum of Creative Human Art and moCa Cleveland Helpful? Unfortunately, those who lend a 'helping hand' aren't always who they appear to be. Stina Aleah's "Helping" Hands reminds audiences not to allow anyone to suppress their voice, authenticity, or light. In her own words, "I hope that this collection of work can inspire those to look beyond what is perceived as 'Helping Hands,' stay true to one's authentic self, and always to stand true in who you are." After suffering a sports-related injury, Stina Aleah turned to art. She discovered that creativity aided her physical and mental healing. Stina Aleah's passion for art and storytelling is an essential part of her identity and career as a self-taught painter. Her life experiences inspire breathtaking oil paintings. Aleah has collaborated with major corporations, Emmy nominated television series, celebrities, galleries, and exhibitions to date. Her work continues to be collected both nationally and internationally. Presented in partnership w/ About the Artist Stina Aleah Stina Aleah More about Stina Aleah at stinaaleah.com .

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