Current Exhibitions
Memory and Perception
November 17, 2018 - December 23, 2018
Reception: November 17, 4:30 -7:00pm with juror's talk beginning at 4:30
“Memory and Perception,” is an exhibit that reveals how artists interpret the world around and within them. All artists integrate their life experiences into their artwork, consciously or unconsciously, often incorporating what they see and sense in the present with their memories of the past. The exhibit was juried by Alan Bamberger, internationally known art consultant, writer and art reviewer, located in San Francisco, CA. He chose 49 artists from across the nation who explore diverse subject matter, from childhood memories to captured moments in time. Visitors will see artwork in a wide array of mediums including photography, painting, fiber, sculpture and more.
Image credit: Detail from "Crushed" by Angelique Benicio
Download the list of accepted entries.
Download the list of award winners here.
Small Treasures
November 17, 2018 - December 23, 2018
Reception: November 17, 5:00 - 7:00pm
The Artist Members of MarinMOCA have big hearts! This exhibition will feature small works made by our Artist Members, and a portion of the sales of each work will go to local organizations. This year’s recipients are DrawBridge, Wildcare, The Marin Food Bank and MarinMOCA. This exhibit helps raise awareness for and benefit our local non-profit organizations.
Upcoming Exhibitions
Open to Interpretation
Artists of MarinMOCA Exhibition
January 5, 2019 - February 24, 2019
Reception: January 5, 4:30 - 7:00pm
A work of art has the power to evoke a memory or story which is different for each viewer depending on their background and life experience. In “Open to Interpretation,” the artists of MarinMOCA have created works with layers of meaning, intent on starting a dialog between artist and viewer. With over 75 exhibiting artists, the show gives visitors the opportunity to study works that span many genres from figurative to visionary, from conceptual to landscape.
Image credits:
"Ascension" by Debra Maddox
"Succulence" by Linda Larsen
Recently Closed Exhibitions
Zio Ziegler
The Fourth Wall
September 22, 2018 - November 11, 2018
Reception: September 22, 5:00 - 8:00pm
Presented by Carson Wealth
The solo exhibition at MarinMOCA will include bold, new paintings and sculpture created by Zio Ziegler. Zio Ziegler’s work is inspired by his prodigious study of mythological, classical, and contemporary themes. His paintings are filled with intricate patterns, vivid color and energetic mark-making, accompanied by densely-descriptive subject matter. He moves fluidly through an array of styles from Abstract Expressionism, Cubism and Graffiti, creating a balance between chaos and clarity. His energy and intensity of method translate seamlessly across mediums, from paintings to sculpture to large-scale murals.
The public is invited to the opening reception on Saturday, September 22, 5:00-8:00pm. Enjoy live music on the lawn by progressive bluegrass string ensemble, The Good Bad Band, food trucks, entrees by Beso Bistro, and beer from local breweries.
Complimentary docent tours on Wednesdays at 11:00am and Saturdays at 2:00pm, beginning on September 26.
Grant support for this exhibition is provided by The Herbst Foundation and the Fleishhacker Foundation.
Additional sponsorship is provided by Tam Bikes and Proof Lab
Image: "Sculptural Bust VII" 2017, oil and flashe on canvas, 60 x 48 in
Learn more about Zio Ziegler: Listen to the interview with Executive Director, Nancy Rehkopf.
Color Works
August 4, 2018 - September 16, 2018
Arrive at 4:30pm to hear juror Danielle Fox review the show and make the awards. Stay for the reception from 5:00 - 7:00pm
In 2D or 3D art, color can be used to express an emotion, to engage the viewer, or simply for its beauty. Juried by Danielle Fox of SLATE Art, located in Oakland, California, this exhibit will explore how artists create a unique visual voice through their use of color.
Download the list af participating artists
Download the list of Award Winners
Image credit: "Embarcadero" by Kit Sheppard
Youth Poster Contest 2018
August 4, 2018 - September 16, 2018
Reception: August 4, 5:00 - 7:00pm
The Youth Poster Contest provides Marin youth, ages 12-18, a public platform for expressing their optimism and concerns about social justice, gun control, climate change and other issues that affect their lives. The exhibition will feature the posters that have received awards from a county-wide submission process. We are pleased to partner with producer Bruce Burtch on this important program.
Make Your Mark
June 16, 2018 - July 29, 2018
Reception: June 16, 5-7pm
Make Your Mark is an exhibition of work by national artists who explore making marks in unique ways. The exhibit commemorates MarinMOCA’s 35th year of bringing contemporary art to the North Bay. Make Your Mark also continues our series of National Juried exhibits that give artists from across the country the opportunity to show their work in a professional museum setting while giving visitors the opportunity to see artworks by American artists. Juried by Jen Tough, owner of Jen Tough Gallery, a contemporary art gallery located in Benicia, California. The exhibit features 46 artists who put down marks using a variety of media to create abstract or representational imagery. This show will feature both 2D and 3D work.
Image Credit: "Mod Squad" by Bibby Gignilliat
Download the list of award winners
Ailene Sheridan and Gary Marsh
June 16, 2018 - July 29, 2018
Reception: June 16, 5-7pm
Running concurrent with the Make Your Mark Exhibit in the Ron Collins Gallery is “Ailene Sheridan and Gary Marsh.” Ailene and Gary earned this exhibition by winning first and second place, respectively, in MarinMOCA’s 2017 artist member shows.
Image top: "Bathers" by Ailene Sheridan
Image bottom: "An Urgent Matter of Balance" by Gary Marsh
9th Annual Altered Book Exhibit and Fundraiser
Presented by Private Ocean
April 28, 2018 - June 2, 2018
Live Auction and Closing Party: June 2, 5pm - 8pm
Come early to complete your bidding during the silent auction from 5:00pm to 6:50pm.
Silent auction will begin closing at 6:10pm
See all the Altered Books via the online slide show.
The book becomes art at MarinMOCA’s 9th Annual Altered Book Exhibit and Fundraiser. Marin’s most popular art show features 150 original book art objects, created by artists who combine provocative messages with inventive technique. Fans and art collectors will see an innovative display of Altered Books. Mary Austin, Co-Founder of the San Francisco Center for the Book, chose the award-winners from 150 outstanding pieces. The artworks are eagerly sought by book art aficionados, who return year after year to see the show.
We invite the public to view and bid on their favorite works during the silent auction from April 28 - June 2. The Closing Party and Live Auction will be held on June 2, 5-8 pm, when all the book art objects will be auctioned to the highest bidder. MarinMOCA is extremely grateful for the artists who are donating their work. This event is MarinMOCA’s biggest fundraiser of the year and all proceeds from the auction support our exhibitions and programming.
This year MarinMOCA is pleased to announce that we have again received a $15,000 challenge grant from the Donald O. and Ronald R. Collins Fund of the Marin Community Foundation. The grant was awarded to support MarinMOCA’s annual Altered Book fundraiser and is in honor of Eleanor Murray who championed the event nine years ago. The challenge grant will match winning bids dollar for dollar up to $15,000, effectively doubling each winning bid!
We are so excited to continue celebrating the Bay Area’s vibrant book arts community with our ninth Altered Book Show.
Download the list of award-winners here.
Image credit: "Rotations" by Kerith Lisi
Nathan Oliveira: The Figure Over Time
March 3, 2018 - April 22, 2018
Reception: March 3, from 5-7 pm
Docent tours: Every Friday at 11 am and Saturday at 2 pm except Friday, March 9, and March 23, when the tour is at 2 pm.
The Marin Museum of Contemporary Art presents “Nathan Oliveira: The figure over time,” representing the most extensive collection of the artist's work ever shown in the North Bay. Nathan Oliveira (1928 - 2010), well-known Bay Area Figurative artist and professor at Stanford University, “believed deeply in art’s ability to connect human beings and explore commonalities of experience” states Steve Nash, author of the exhibition catalog essay. The exhibition portrays the evolution of Oliveira's figurative work over a 50 year time span, and includes paintings, prints, and sculpture, as well as a selection of work shown publicly for the first time. Co-curated with Joe Oliveira, Nathan’s son, MarinMOCA is grateful for his generosity to the art-lovers of Marin who can experience this fantastic exhibition of work by a world-renowned Bay Area artist.
Nathan Oliveira studied painting and printmaking at the California College of Arts and Crafts (now the California College of the Arts) in Oakland, and in the summer of 1950 with Max Beckmann at Mills College in Oakland. As a professor at Stanford, Oliveira was a generous and caring teacher to his students, often inviting them to the family home for meals and to share his inspirations. His work is in the collections of many museums, among them the Art Institute of Chicago, the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
A catalog will be produced in conjunction with the exhibition.
Image: Head #6, 2010, oil on panel
InnerScapes
Artists of MarinMOCA Exhibition
January 13, 2018 - February 25, 2018
Main Gallery Reception: January 13, from 5 pm to 7 pm
Get a glimpse into the artists’ subconscious at "InnerScapes." A revealing look at the emotional, spiritual and intellectual process undertaken by artists in the pursuit of their craft. We invite visitors to experience the powerful and authentic creativity that comes from the artist dipping his/her brush into their inner state.
Image credit: Detail from "Holographic Turbulence" by Solon
My
Artist in Residence
Melissa Shanley
January 13, 2018 - February 25, 2018
Ron Collins Nook
This exhibit of work is a culmination of Melissa’s five-month residency at MarinMOCA. "My" consists of detailed abstractions of the female body, printed on paper and silk. The images are duplicated and layered, one over the other, to create a veiled, or concealed image. This work is a response to the current political climate as contemporary women struggle to decide what is their own, and what is to be revealed.
Contemporary Landscape
Presented By: Bank of Marin
December 2, 2017 - January 7, 2018
Main Gallery Reception: December 2, from 5 pm to 7 pm
Contemporary Landscape, an exhibit of work by artists from across the nation. Juror Chester Arnold chose the work while evacuated from his home during the recent North Bay fires, so the viewer can expect to see work that shows the devastation wrought by nature and man on our environment. From the turbulence of a clearing sky to the catastrophic effects of climate change, this exhibit investigates the impact nature has on us, and vice versa. Says Arnold "The general museum-going public is still looking for art that is beautiful . . . . But I feel painting could be more than that. It should raise questions; raise the hairs on the back of your neck. It can be used to explore issues that are more troubling than reassuring. If one would just stop and ask ‘why would anyone do something like this?’ It would be satisfying." We invite the public to experience "earth, wind and fire," on display at this transformational exhibit.
About the Juror: Chester Arnold is an instructor at College of Marin and nationally exhibited painter whose works explore the contemporary landscape. He is represented by the Catharine Clark Gallery in San Francisco.
Image detail: "Clearing Up Over The Bay (View From The Ark)" by Jeffrey Beauchamp
Small Treasures
December 2, 2017 - January 7, 2018
Ron Collins Gallery
This exhibition will feature small works made by our Artist Members, and a portion of the sales of each work will go to the members’ chosen local non-profit, including relief for artists affected by the North Bay fires. This exhibit will help raise awareness and benefit our community and local non-profit organizations.
Traveling Postcards: Art for Social Change
December 2, 2017 - January 7, 2018
Ron Collins Gallery
Traveling Postcards are handmade art postcards that travel to women around the world who are survivors of violence and oppression. This exhibit will feature some of the postcards made during the Traveling Postcard workshops held at MarinMOCA. Traveling Postcards is a program of The Women’s Wisdom Initiative, a Bay Area nonprofit that uses the transformative nature of art to heal trauma from violence and to fight for gender equality.
