(Hank the Aquarian, “Wash Me & Comb Me,” 2023. Acrylic paint & latex house paint on canvas. Courtesy of the artist. )
By Betsy DiJulio
It could be argued that a juried show, even one mounted by a professional organization, is a capricious act of subjectivity. And there is certainly bias, whether conscious or not, that informs the jurying process. Not only is that inevitable but, as some level, desirable. Institutions choose jurors for the knowledge, background, experience, expertise, and other leanings they bring to the table.
For the Made in VA Biennial, MOCA chose three jurors—Maya Brooks, Heather Hakimzadeh, and Laruen Leving—to allow for a broader cross-section of viewpoints and a kind of check and balance that holds jurors accountable for their selections. Brooks is Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the North Carolina Museum of Art and Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art. A familiar name on the local art scene, Hakimzadeh is Senior Curator and Special Projects Manager at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. And Leving, based in both Chicago and Cleveland, serves as Curator-at-Large at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland. (Longer bios are available on the MOCA website.)
Hakimzadeh, as both juror and onsite curator for the exhibition, recently shared some insider insights into the process, beginning with the fact that the response was even larger than expected with 2,800 submissions. Jurying took place in two rounds and she intentionally provided little direction to her fellow jurors for the first round—winnowing entries down to a more manageable number of 800—other than to remove definite “Nos” and to keep an eye out for themes and trends. A discussion of what jurors were seeing in terms of national and international “relevance” followed. The resulting exhibition, she says with palpable pride “is on a par with art that we bring in from all over the world…and these artists are your neighbors.”
“Artistic excellence,” Hakimzadeh attests, was the “number one” criteria. When questioned about what that means—because it means something different to everyone and is somewhat amorphous—she responded that, while she can’t speak for the other jurors and did not dictate to them—for her it means strong craft, pieces that can speak to different levels and different people, and content that is somewhat subtle and not too “on the nose.”
Since 1994, MOCA has celebrated the creative achievements of artists based in the Commonwealth, transitioning to a biennial in summer 2024 to be able to devote more real estate to the exhibition and, hence, share a wider range of artistic output. Ultimately, some 81 pieces by 61 artists were chosen. Among those themes that emerged—which drove the installation—are what Hakimzadeh calls “contemporary genre” or “occurrences in the domestic sphere,” noting that there has been a significant amount of post-Covid art about everyday life at home, usually with psychological layers.
One would have to be living under the proverbial rock not to recognize that there is “lots of identity politics in the world right now,” and “cross-sectional identities” was another prominent subset that emerged along with what she refers to as the “joy of art-making,” or an embrace of the formal—color theory, pattern, and shape—though the selected works have “other things happening” and are “saying more.”
In what Hakimzadeh refers to as “the illustration corner,” visitors will find work that is graphic and flattened, their stories told in bold colors. And lastly is the natural world which was addressed in much of the submitted work. But to be chosen, the artists had to communicate in a “different way” with a scope broader than, say, an environmental message.
Free to Virginia residents, the exhibition is heralded by Hakimzadeh as full of “wonderful conversation starters.” A gallery game she enjoys playing with her husband includes asking questions akin to the popular “table topics” type games designed to eliminate small talk and, in this case, unintentional looking: Which one would you burn? Which one would you steal?
Win, lose, or draw; burn, steal, or guffaw, visitors to this exhibition will experience art as both a mirror and a window, that is, as catalysts for taking a thoughtful look within and without.
Sidebar:
THE GOODE PRIZE
Vivian Chiu, Henrico
Self IV, 2022
SECOND PLACE
Kara Braciale, Falls Church
Σ (sigma), 2024
THIRD PLACE
Rebecca Oh, Richmond
E, 2022
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Nadd Harvin, Newport News
We Need To Talk, 2024
Susan Lapham, Vienna
Wonderland, 2022
Jonathan Lee, Richmond
Counterpane, 2024
DIRECTOR’S PRIZE
Steve Prince, Williamsburg
Sow, 2022
WANT TO SEE?
“Made in VA Biennial”
Through January 5
Virginia MOCA
