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Title Round Thomas Frontini Untitled (Sailboat), 2019 Oil on panel 24 1/2 x 20 1/2 inches Estimated Value Range: $4,000 - $7,000 Starting Bid: $2,000 Bidding increments: $250 Many of Thomas Frontini’s allegorical images are set near the sea. In this exceptional work, the sailboat is the powerful subject, standing proud and strong as small elements play on the sand in the foreground. Frontini (b. 1967, Canada) creates paintings that resonate with anyone who cherishes the tranquil beauty of lake and boat life. His work blends the serenity of nature with dreamlike, fantastical imagery, capturing both the calm and mystery of the natural world. Using surrealist techniques—detailed foregrounds layered over atmospheric backdrops—Frontini constructs immersive scenes that juxtapose contemporary objects with historical references. His compositions explore the magic in the mundane and tap into the transformative power of the subconscious, creating metaphors for human experience and meditations on the tension between fantasy and reality. Influenced by his Italian heritage and a deep interest in art history, Frontini’s palette and technical approach reflect a cross-temporal dialogue that merges past and present. Towering landscapes stretch around intricately rendered flora and fauna; thick clouds and cliff faces house futuristic, miniature habitats. Abstract forms glow with light and distance, offering glimpses into imagined futures. The work feels both grounded and otherworldly—rooted in tradition but aimed toward speculative potential. Through careful symbolism and measured ambiguity, Frontini invites viewers into a world where the seen and unseen coexist, and where rituals, memories, and nature intertwine. More: Thomas Frontini Artist Statement "Fantasy and reality are always clashing in one's consciousness, particularly in dreams. Despite technological advances, humans will always rely primarily on basic instinct. My paintings depict the cyclical nature of life, the tendency for humankind to continually return to past tendencies. I often incorporate shrines as a subject in my work to comment on how societies evolve—moving away from insignificant rituals to more enlightened ideas—but in the end, the rituals continue. The shrines are not destroyed; they are simply transformed. Through these images, I attempt to portray the way that fantasy and reality coexist, often in the most unexpected and surreal forms." About the Artist Thomas Frontini received a BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art and an MFA from Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. He has exhibited widely across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Solo exhibitions of his work have been held at venues including the Richard Levy Gallery (Albuquerque, NM), William Busta Gallery (Cleveland, OH), and as part of the Venice Biennale satellite programming in Italy, coinciding with the release of his monograph. His work has also appeared in group exhibitions in Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Istanbul, and Santa Fe. Frontini’s paintings are included in several prominent private and public collections, such as the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul, Korea, and the Cleveland Clinic Collection in Ohio. Selected Awards Sara Jane Pyne Materials Grant, Ohio State University (1992) Jurors Award, Chattahoochee Valley Arts Museum (1991) Award of Excellence, Ohio Watercolor Society (1990)

News + Read more at CAN Journal Saturday, February 1, 2025 by Kisha Nicole Foster Photograph by Emmanuel Wallace I recently went to moCa Cleveland for the opening of an exhibit of photos provided by Birthing Beautiful Communities: Dear. Dear is a tribute to the strength, resilience, and beauty of Black motherhood and the community that supports it. Birthing Beautiful Communities is an organization in Northeast Ohio that holistically supports pregnant women from the time they find out they are with child to the birth and beyond. Their goal is to support equitable birth outcomes in communities that have socio-economic disparities. They also have a book, Born to Be: A Tribute to Black Motherhood . This book can be purchased on the Birthing Beautiful Communities website. I have a connection to this organization as they assisted me in my birth with my daughter seven years ago. My doula is Verna Darby, and she was there from my knowing I was pregnant to the delivery room, when I gave birth to Love Jones in 2017. She was at the opening on January 24, 2025. We got to reconnect and it was a joy for her to see Love Jones at age 7, knowing she was the one holding my hand and supporting me as I pushed my baby girl out. Without her, I don’t know if I would have been confident in this journey that is learned while doing the work. ( Read the full article at CAN Journal ) Previous Next

SLAMM SEASON: Teen Talent Show May 11, 2024 Free Join Temple of Passions at moCa Cleveland to experience spoken word during this Poetry Slam & Open mic, created by teen poets. Temple of Passions is a performing arts platform that prioritizes visibilities for BIPOC, Queer folk and allies. Temple of Passions has been engaging with the community through performances, events and more. Stay connected to Temple of Passions mission and work this season by adding to the resilience box and creative response at moCa Cleveland Thus-Sun. Presented by Temple of Passions Save your seat! Register on eventbrite . About Free Join Temple of Passions at moCa Cleveland to experience spoken word during this Poetry Slam & Open mic, created by teen poets. Temple of Passions is a performing arts platform that prioritizes visibilities for BIPOC, Queer folk and allies. Temple of Passions has been engaging with the community through performances, events and more. Stay connected to Temple of Passions mission and work this season by adding to the resilience box and creative response at moCa Cleveland Thus-Sun. Presented by Temple of Passions Save your seat! Register on eventbrite . Free Join Temple of Passions at moCa Cleveland to experience spoken word during this Poetry Slam & Open mic, created by teen poets. Temple of Passions is a performing arts platform that prioritizes visibilities for BIPOC, Queer folk and allies. Temple of Passions has been engaging with the community through performances, events and more. Stay connected to Temple of Passions mission and work this season by adding to the resilience box and creative response at moCa Cleveland Thus-Sun. Presented by Temple of Passions Save your seat! Register on eventbrite .

Title Round Michael Weil The Theory of Flux (Left + Right) , 2024 Archival print on German Etching Paper mounted to Dibond 53 3/8 x 80 inches Estimated Value Range: $5,000 - $8,000 Starting Bid: $4,000 Courtesy of SHAHEEN modern & contemporary art, Foothill Galleries and Michael Weil Michael Weil’s The Theory of Flux (Left + Right) , from his recent Grande Quatrefoils series, captures, inverts, and re-presents the balance, repetition, and patterns of nature often overlooked by man. Through his lens, Weil amplifies the natural world's inherent harmony, inviting the viewer to consider both its simplicity and complexity. As a tenured photographer, Cleveland gallerist, teacher, and PhD in Art History, Weil is a master of technique and concept, with works held in many private and museum collections such as the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cleveland Clinic. More: Michael Weil Michael Weil established Foothill Galleries in 2015 with the momentum of 30 years of camera work, photography education and art appreciation urging him on. He has a PhD in art history—with a concentration in photohistory—from Case Western Reserve University, and has taught art history at Northeast Ohio schools including Case, the Cleveland Institute of Art, and Cleveland State University. His artwork has been shown in exhibitions around Cleveland and has been acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Cleveland Clinic, among other private collections.

Studio Access w/ Manabu Ikeda May 19, 2024 Experience the artist create onsite at moCa as he develops a new monumental artwork over the course of the Winter/Spring season. About Experience the artist create onsite at moCa as he develops a new monumental artwork over the course of the Winter/Spring season. Experience the artist create onsite at moCa as he develops a new monumental artwork over the course of the Winter/Spring season.

Title Round Sascha Braunig Big Nets, 2013 Screenprint, edition of 75 Framed: 24 x 20 inches Estimated Value Range: $700 - $1,200 Starting Bid: $300 Bidding increments: $100 More: Sascha Braunig Sascha Braunig (b. 1983, Qualicum Beach, BC, Canada) lives and works in Portland, Maine. She holds a BFA from The Cooper Union and an MFA in painting from Yale University. Braunig was awarded a residency from the Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program in 2016, a Pollock-Krasner Foundation award in 2016, and a Macdowell Fellowship in 2013. Selected solo exhibitions include François Ghebaly, New York and Los Angeles, USA; Oakville Galleries, Ontario, Canada; Magenta Plains, New York, USA; Office Baroque, Brussels, Belgium; Atlanta Contemporary, Atlanta, USA; and MoMA PS1, New York, USA. Her work has been featured in institutional exhibitions including the Quebec City Biennial; Oakville Galleries, Ontario, Canada; Portland Museum of Art, Portland, USA; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia; Aïshti Foundation, Beirut, Lebanon; Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, Cleveland, USA; and the New Museum Triennial, New York, USA.

Studio Access w/ Manabu Ikeda May 26, 2024 Experience the artist create onsite at moCa as he develops a new monumental artwork over the course of the Winter/Spring season. About Experience the artist create onsite at moCa as he develops a new monumental artwork over the course of the Winter/Spring season. Experience the artist create onsite at moCa as he develops a new monumental artwork over the course of the Winter/Spring season.

Date Title One sentence desciption + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more 11AM-5PM Sat. March 22, 2025 moCa Saturday at moCa Cleveland Free with admission Discover the museum in a new way every time you visit. Enjoy a variety of self-guided tours that bring you closer to the exhibits and architecture, then explore your curiosity through hands-on exploration in our Practice Lab activity space.

Title Round Clotilde Jiménez Self-Portrait in a Beret , 2024 Mixed media collage on paper Framed: 31 x 42 inches Estimated Value Range: $27,000 - $32,000 Starting Bid: $20,000 Playfully merging cut paper, photography, and bold mark-making, Clotilde Jiménez’s Self-Portrait in a Beret reconstructs the artist’s likeness through an inventive dialogue of material and form. A graduate of CIA and the Slade School of Fine Art (London), Jiménez has exhibited at global museums such as Museo Jumex and the Phillips Collection and his work is included in the Ford Foundation and Beth Rudin De Woody collections, among others. The Paris Olympics commissioned Jiménez to create posters for 2024 Games. This June, moCa Cleveland will debut his first major U.S. survey exhibition. Courtesy of the artist and Mariane Ibrahim Gallery (Chicago, Paris, Mexico City) More: Clotilde Jiménez Born in 1990 in Honolulu, Hawaii, Clotilde Jiménez now lives and works in Mexico City. He earned his MFA from The Slade School of Fine Art and his BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art. Clotilde blends line and collage driven by a focus on materiality as shown through his reuse of everyday materials such as wallpaper, clothing, magazine clippings and Mexican craftpaper. Clotilde Jiménez: Shapeshift, opening on June 27, will be the most extensive presentation of Jiménez’s work to date, showcasing newly commissioned pieces alongside previously unseen drawings and process materials. Spanning his entire career, the exhibition will include early works from his time as a student at the Cleveland Institute of Art, providing a clear trajectory of his artistic evolution and the continuous transformation of his practice.

Jan 28-Jun 5, 2022 Aram Han Sifuentes Who Was This Built to Protect? Jan 28-Jun 5, 2022 ∆ Aram Han Sifuentes, U.S. Citizenship Test Sampler (Made by non-citizens who live and work in the U.S.) , 2013-ongoing. Installation view. Cotton thread, sequins, beads, photo transfers, patches, felt, yarn on linen,11 x 8.5 in each (27.94 x 21.59 cm). Courtesy the artist. Photo by Hyounsang Yoo ∆ Aram Han Sifuentes, U.S. Citizenship Test Sampler (Made by non-citizens who live and work in the U.S.) , 2013-ongoing. Installation view. Cotton thread, sequins, beads, photo transfers, patches, felt, yarn on linen,11 x 8.5 in each (27.94 x 21.59 cm). Courtesy the artist. Photo by Hyounsang Yoo Aram Han Sifuentes Who Was This Built to Protect? Jan 28-Jun 5, 2022 ∆ Aram Han Sifuentes, U.S. Citizenship Test Sampler (Made by non-citizens who live and work in the U.S.) , 2013-ongoing. Installation view. Cotton thread, sequins, beads, photo transfers, patches, felt, yarn on linen,11 x 8.5 in each (27.94 x 21.59 cm). Courtesy the artist. Photo by Hyounsang Yoo As an immigrant and daughter of a seamstress, Korean American artist Aram Han Sifuentes (she/they) uses sewing as a medium to investigate citizenship, protest, and belonging in the United States. With a practice rooted in the collective, her work is used to center disenfranchised communities, particularly dispossessed immigrants of color. Who Was This Built to Protect? developed over the course of Getting to Know Aram Han Sifuentes, the artist’s long-term, long-distance residency with moCa. It centers around a set of six large-scale red silk curtains with white text that spans the museum’s Gund Commons. These curtains, entitled Messages to Authorities (Go Away!) (2021), are modeled after Red Cards created by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center with language that outlines the rights and protections held by all people under the U.S. Constitution, regardless of immigration status. Underscoring how language can act as a barrier to citizenship, Who Was This Built to Protect? places Messages to Authorities (Go Away!) directly in conversation with the U.S. Naturalization Test questions through a selection of U.S. Citizenship Test Samplers (2012-ongoing), needlework samplers of U.S. Naturalization Test questions and answers made by U.S. non-citizens during artist-facilitated workshops. Han Sifuentes repeats these questions on moCa’s Kohl Monumental Staircase, a game of one step forward, two steps back to test civic knowledge and illustrate the often-performative labor non-citizens must endure to prove their worth. An unflinching critique of U.S. governmental practices, Who Was This Built to Protect? highlights roadblocks on the path to citizenship and encourages audiences to question bureaucratic systems, those who constructed the systems, and for whom the systems are designed to benefit. About the Artist Aram Han Sifuentes Aram Han Sifuentes Aram Han Sifuentes (b. 1986, Seoul, South Korea) is a fiber, social practice, and performance artist who works to claim spaces for immigrant and disenfranchised communities. Her work often revolves around skill sharing, specifically sewing techniques, to create multiethnic and intergenerational sewing circles, which become a place for empowerment, subversion and protest. Han Sifuentes earned her B.A. in Art and Latin American Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and her M.F.A. in Fiber and Material Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has been a recipient of a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship, Map Fund, Asian Cultural Council’s Individual Fellowship, 3Arts Award, and 3Arts Next Level/Spare Room Award. Her project, Protest Banner Lending Library, was a finalist for the Beazley Design Awards at the Design Museum in London in 2016. The artist’s work has been exhibited at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago Cultural Center, Asian Arts Initiative, Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum, and the Design Museum. Aram is the inaugural artist in moCa’s Getting to Know You residency and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

News + Read more at FreshWater Thursday, January 29, 2026 by Karin Connelly Rice When the Museum of Contemporary Art ( moCa Cleveland ) opens its winter exhibitions this Friday, Jan. 30, visitors will be stepping into conversations that span nature, memory, survival, and responsibility—spanning centuries, ecosystems, and lived experiences. moCa’s new season brings together four exhibitions—" Ohio NOW: State of Nature ,” “ Sky Hopinka: The Myth Is Now ,” “ KING COBRA’s “When You Are Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea ,” and the museum premiere of the film installation “ Homing Instinct: Letting Go of the Shore .” ach exhibit has the power to invoke a range of reactions—starting with KING COBRA’s grotesque caged great white shark, suspended in a 13-foot cage and greeting guests on the museum’s ground floor. “From offering imaginative ways to reuse materials often discarded as waste to creating a VR environment for understanding an insect, all of the artists are making work that helps us rethink our relationship to the natural world,” says DJ Hellerman, moCa deputy director and senior curator. The exhibits explore the relationship between people and their environments from distinct, often unsettling, vantage points. “Together, these four exhibitions form a conversation about our relationship with and within nature, across time, memory, and responsibility,” says Megan Lykins Reich, moCa’s Kohl executive director. “Each project approaches this subject uniquely: As material, as platform, as witness, as inherited story, [and] as site of trauma, rupture, or repair.” That sense of dialogue and conversation anchors moCa’s 2026 season. While climate change and environmental collapse loom large, the exhibitions resist simple binaries of hope versus despair. “The artworks convey various, even divergent emotions and ideas, revealing the complexity of our personal and collective relationship with and within nature,” Reich says. “None of the works are helpless—instead, many assert the behaviors or recognition (either of past wrongs or future opportunities) needed to repair and sustain our environment.” Collaborating for sustainability In a statewide collaborative effort between moCa Cleveland and Cincinnati’s Contemporary Arts Center (CAC), “Ohio Now: State of Nature” brings together 15 Ohio-based artists who focus on sustainability, agriculture, food justice, and natural ecologies using materials drawn directly from lived experience—reflecting on pollutants harvested from waterways, plant-based dyes, and organic matter as potential tools for identifying common ground across diverse practices. “We selected a deeply relevant and urgent theme that many artists across the world are pursuing in their work, one that is broad enough to provide latitude for artists working in different ways and with different intentions,” Reich says, adding that the theme also allows for a cohesive experience where the viewer can ask important questions, yet be open to new ideas and possibilities. A personal exploration Those connecting themes continue in “Sky Hopinka: The Myth Is Now,” a poetic and personal exploration of Indigenous culture, history, and language using film, photography, and text. Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk Nation/Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians) was born and raised in Ferndale, Washington and spent time in Palm Springs and Riverside, California, Portland, Oregon, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In Portland he studied and taught chinuk wawa, a language indigenous to the Lower Columbia River Basin. Hopinka alternates between documentary and experimental forms, tracing identity through language, memory and myth.Additionally, he draws on the idea of the “arrière-pays”—an unreachable, imagined homeland—as a metaphor for spiritual searching. The result is work that feels intimate and expansive at once, situating Indigenous histories not in the past, but as living, evolving presences. Emotional intensity While Hopinka’s work may invite quiet reflection, KING COBRA delivers a jolt with “When You Are Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.” Suspended inside a towering cage of fluorescent tubes, a bisected Great White shark, made from silicone, beads, synthetic hair, and ink, appears frozen between life and decay. The sculpture represents a memorial to Black Africans forced during the transatlantic slave trade to choose between enslavement or death at sea. Hellerman notes the work is emotionally intense. “KING COBRA’s ‘When You Are Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea’ is incredible,” he says. “It will be a memorable experience for this season, to say the least.” Hellerman doesn’t necessarily consider “Devil” intentionally jarring, but he does describe the tension she creates at the exhibit’s core. “KING COBRA is making exquisitely crafted work that is both gorgeous and grotesque,” he says. Going sci-fi in nature Rounding out the new season is “Homing Instinct: Letting Go of the Shore,” a 26-minute multi-screen science fiction film installation written and directed by filmmaker Lydia Dean Pilcher , based on a short story by writer Dani McClain . Set in a near future shaped by rising sea levels, the film follows two friends facing forced relocation from coastal regions—a narrative that blends science fiction, Afrofuturism and emotional realism. “Homing Instinct is a film about friendship, trust, fear, and supporting each other during times of uncertainty,” Hellerman says. In conjunction with the film, Cleveland’s ThirdSpace Action Lab will activate a ground-floor reading room at moCa focused on science fiction and Afrofuturism—extending the exhibition beyond the screen and into collective imagination. Hellerman says that what unites moCa’s new season doesn’t offer one takeaway but perhaps invites visitors to make a shift in perspective. “I’m not sure we can simplify an exhibition into a single message,” he observes. “Like all of our programs, it will open up new ways of thinking about the environment, our relationship to it, and, ideally, it inspires people to think a little bit differently about how they perceive the world they live in.” Opening night The public is invited to celebrate moCa Cleveland’s new season at its 2026 opening night celebration tomorrow, Friday, Jan. 20, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. All four exhibits will be open during the free event, which will feature a spoken word performance by poet Morgan Paige , food vendors, and cash bar. Previous Next

Date Title One sentence desciption + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more Add a Title Add a Title Title + more 12-2:30PM Sat. August 2, 2025 moCa Saturday: FAM Day (Family, Art & Movement) SIGN UP at moCa Cleveland Free with admission Move with meaning in this transformative experience where visual art meets street dance. Join the acclaimed 10K Movement to reconnect with your body, creativity, and expression—through moves inspired by the current exhibitions of Clotilde Jiménez and Maggie Menghan Chen. All ages and levels welcome—no experience needed. Presented in partnership w/