April 12, 2016

Introducing the Spring SOLOS 2016 Artists

by Evan Odoms, Arlington Arts Center Marketing InternSpring SOLOS 2016

Gabriela Bulisova, Locked Apart: The Impact of Incarceration on Families; The Koger-Harris Family, digital photograph, 36 x 24 inches, 2015
Gabriela Bulisova, Locked Apart: The Impact of Incarceration on Families; The Koger-Harris Family

Spring in the DMV may not always be consistent, but our Spring SOLOS are blooming right on schedule.

Each year more than 100 artists submit unique proposals detailing how they would use one of our seven main exhibition spaces – we’re all about site-specific work, and proposals that incorporate our distinctive gallery spaces are particularly exciting!

Maggie Gourlay, Not a Sunday Morning (installation details) drywall, plywood, latex paint, crocheted embroidery thread, Duralar, dimensions variable, 2012-2016
Maggie Gourlay, Not a Sunday Morning (installation detail)

Around this time last year we asked Michele Ho Assistant Curator at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and Chicago-based artist Jefferson Pinder to help us make the selections for the 2015-16 SOLOS.

Through this competitive process only 14 artists were selected, seven for fall and seven for spring.

We wrapped up 2015 with the Fall SOLOS, and are now, at this very moment, preparing to present the Spring SOLOSopening April 16.

Adam Hager, Pole Position, hard drive arm with miscellaneous clock, music box, sewing machine, and circuitry components, 1 x 3 x 1 inches, 2015
Adam Hager, Pole Position

This series is the heart of our mission, and highlights contemporary artists from across the Mid-Atlantic, but more than that we offer space for artists to realize ambitions and push the limits of their practices.

What’s so interesting about SOLOS is how each artist produces an independent body of work, and while they are all different, there are moments of discovery each season where we find these fascinating common threads in technique, concept, or ideology.

Read on to learn more about each artist, and come to the reception this weekend to see if you can find the connections throughout Spring SOLOS 2016


Jesse Harrod, Rangers, paracord, metal, Plexiglas, 16 x 72 inches (each), 2015
Jesse Harrod, Rangers

In Locked Apart: The Impact of Incarceration on Families, Gabriela Bulisova uses videos and documentary photography to depict the poignant, but relevant, stories of family members whose loved ones are incarcerated. Gabriela’s work is fueled by her desire to be a catalyst for real change in an often ignored structure of society.

R. Mertens, No-thing ever really transcends its Immediate, (Detail), Cassette tape, Fluorescent Lights, plastic mold, Electrical wire, crochet, vacuum plastic form molding; 7’ x 18” x 1’, 2015
R. Mertens, No-thing ever really transcends its Immediate (detail)

Not A Sunday Morning is an exploration of the concept of home by Maggie Gourlay who, by combining drywall and embroidery thread, plays with personal perspectives using different materials that seemingly change before your eyes.

Adam Hager’s work also combines unusual materials as he reassigns the purposes of tiny mechanical components. In Mechanical Resonance he does just that; creating interactive structures, prompting participants to generate sound and movement.

Lauren Rice, Fertility Goddess' Survival Kit #2 (After Botticelli), cut and painted wood, plaster, self-firing clay, aluminum foil, acrylic, latex, spray paint, ball chain, push pins, shells, and found objects, 60 x 38 x 12 inches, 2015
Lauren Rice, Fertility Goddess’ Survival Kit #2 (After Botticelli)

Jesse Harrod explores the natural form in her exhibition Soft Hardware. Her vibrantly colored macramé pieces represent the juxtaposition between artificial and organic components; a commentary on sexuality and the cultural meaning of the body.

Touching on ideas of fidelity, ritual, transmission, and progress R. Mertens uses VHS and audio cassette tape in traditional fiber art techniques such as crochet, weaving, and macramé. Paradoxical Acousmêtre features objects (integral elements of his performance art installations) created from these materials and methods.

Amy Ritter, Movers, Xerox print, OSB plywood, 64 x 174 x 54 inches, 2016
Amy Ritter, Movers

In Parts and Wholes, Lauren Rice explores the past, present, and future by creating displays from an imagined archaeological dig with found materials and artist-made objects.

Amy Ritter draws you into her personal memories by recreating scenes and objects often found in mobile home communities. She used large-scale Xerox prints and building material like plywood to create her exhibition: Here | There.

At first glance the works of these seven artists may not seem to have a correlating theme, however, all of their work are an artistic expression of our contemporary society and are a commentary on our present culture.


Spring SOLOS 2016 will be on view from April 16 through June 12. Come celebrate the opening of this exhibition on Sat April 16 and mark your calendar for the gallery talk on Saturday June 4, 1 – 4 pm.
Along with SOLOS we will also present As you spread, I am erased, a solo exhibition by AAC Resident Artist Hedieh Javanshir Ilchi on view on the Upper Level in the Wyatt Resident Artists Gallery.
Downstairs in the Jenkins Community Gallery we are presenting a group exhibition by H-B Woodlawn Secondary Senior AP Art students entitled Emerging Artists of Vacation Lane.
And in the Atrium on the Main Level you’ll see Jeweled Traditions an installation by AAC Instructor Melanie Kehoss, featuring work made in collaboration with her 2015 AAC Summer Art Camp students.

Artist Talks with Andrew Barco and Elliot Doughtie

Saturday / October 21 / 1pm-3pm

Join artists Andrew Barco and Elliot Doughtie for conversations about their solo exhibitions currently on view at MoCA Arlington.

Neon Nights: Gala & Silent Auction

Wednesday / September 27 / 7pm

Join us on Wednesday, September 27 for a special gala and silent auction to benefit the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington. Tickets range from $250 to $500 and include a 3-course dinner, silent auction, and the joy you’ll feel knowing you’re supporting the museum! Can’t attend? Consider sponsoring an artist to attend in your place!

MoCA on the Move at Met Park

Sundays 10am-12pm

MoCA Arlington at Met Park
Fun for the whole family! No Experience Required offers playful art making activities for children (and their curious adults) every Sunday morning. There will be collaborative, community-built art works, and opportunities to “make and take” works, too.

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