For more than 30 years, the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art’s Made in VA Biennial has featured local artists from around the state and this year’s series is the largest yet, with 87 works by 61 artists on display until Jan. 5.
“When it started, it was just open to members,” said Heather Hakiamzadeh, senior curator at the Virginia MOCA. The series’ popularity has exploded, and the museum received a record number of 699 submissions this year and can give artists the biggest awards yet.
This year’s biennial includes the first-ever partnership with the Goode family, which means a $10,000 first-place prize and a solo exhibition to run concurrently with the next Biennial.
“That could change an artist’s life,” Hakiamzadeh said, citing the materials, machinery, studio rentals and travel expenses that are often costly and necessary aspects of being a working artist.
“We’re thinking carefully about how we can provide professional opportunities beyond just showing in the exhibition that will help the artist,” she said.
This year, artist Vivian Chiu from Henrico County received the Goode Award. Visitors can still vote for the recipient of the People’s Choice Award through the end of the exhibit.
With so many submissions and featured artists, the Virginia MOCA decided to expand the usual single judge into a panel of jurors to curate this year's showcase.
“You get a really broad range and reach of what these artists are creating,” Hakiamzadeh said. “They’re tackling the same issues and talking about what artists all over the world are talking about.”
Here are some of the artists featured in the exhibit, which is currently on display:
Jing Qin
Jing Qin, born and raised in China, recently moved from a teaching position from the University of Denver to a position in the art department at Old Dominion University.
In her artist’s statement, Qin wrote that her art “addresses psychological tension arising from the ambiguous and fluid relationship[s].” She uses iconography, symbolism and absurdity in exploring many themes, including her personal experiences with alienation.
As an artist with an identity containing the influences of multiple cultures, she describes her work as a “hybridization of Chinese scenarios and American daydreams.”
“It’s not about painting a pretty picture, or maybe the question is even bigger – how do you define what pretty means?” Qin said.
“I’m pretty strict for my students to know how to do the foundational skills,” she said. “You have to learn the vocabulary before you can write a poem.”
However, she said, rules are learned so they can be subverted.
She encourages her students to “explore concepts, stories, histories, identities, beyond just painting as a skill,” which is what she does in her work.
Although it’s inspired by her personal experiences, it also has an ineffable quality that even she doesn’t understand.
“I’m not expecting my audience to receive exactly the signals I make … they may receive something totally different,” said Qin, “they may receive something even broader than that. I think that’s the beauty of art.”
Hank the Aquarian
Hampton Roads native Hank the Aquarian returns to their second Made in VA Biennial with their new piece “Wash Me And Comb Me.”
“It’s my favorite piece I’ve ever done,” Hank said.
The painting draws influence from the “gorgeous Catholic iconography” from their private school upbringing, mixed with the whimsy of their favorite childhood fables.
Hank calls this mixture a “psychedelic expression of a religious alien coming into contact with a kid’s fairy tale.”
They said it’s “a fun way to take anything that's a binary or a dichotomy and blur it all together.”
During their many visits to the Virginia MOCA during the last Biennial Hank was featured in, they said they often spoke to the people viewing their work.
“If somebody is standing there in front of my painting I may interrupt,” Hank said. “That is the point, so we can talk about it.”
Other artists often did the same when a guest lingered at their piece, sparking conversations between the various artists and visitors.
Hank said talking about it helps experience the art in the exhibit.
“We are so influenced by everything,” they said. “We take in so much information constantly that trying to organize it is kind of futile and I think if you try to organize it then you’re not being present in the moment.”
The Virginia MOCA’s Made in VA Biennial runs until Jan. 5. Admission is free. More information is online at Virginia MOCA.
