Past Exhibitions
Browse the chronological list of past exhibitions at the 老司机福利网 Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCRA), or search for a specific exhibition. Click 鈥淰iew鈥 for more information about an exhibition. If you need further information about an exhibition, please contact us.
Avoda: Objects of the Spirit 鈥 Ceremonial Art by Tobi Kahn
September 2, 2003 to October 12, 2003
Avoda is the Hebrew noun for "work," as well as for "prayer/worship," and the active mode implied by this title reflects Tobi Kahn's interpretation of the rising interest and active participation in spiritual expressions. The Avoda exhibition consists of 42 Jewish ceremonial objects that demonstrate Kahn's interpretation of old and new ritual observances, as well as his artistic commitment to natural forms. Those familiar with Kahn's paintings and sculpture will recognize common elements in the palette, textures, and organic forms of these works. Dr. Douglas Dreishpoon, Curator of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY, notes that "Tobi Kahn鈥檚 involvement with Judaica is both a natural and inevitable extension of his painting and sculpture."
Yet these are highly personal works, created as they were for ritual moments in the life of his family: a chair created for his son's circumcision ceremony, child-sized spice boxes used in Sabbath observances. Exhibition curator Laura Kruger writes that these works are "strikingly contemporary in their refusal to allude to familiar and domestic conventions of Judaica. Instead, they point to a sacred and mysterious realm, beyond conscious knowledge, while retaining Kahn鈥檚 persisting commitment to the hand of the artist. For Kahn, these objects are fashioned not only to be used but to be handed down as embodiments of love and community."
To encourage reflection on the role of rituals in our daily lives and as part of the exhibition programming, Kahn and trained assistants will offer a series of workshops at MOCRA and at area schools. There is a particular interest in reaching out to high school and university students. Kruger emphasizes, "while the current interest in spirituality cuts across age, ethnic and economic lines, it is during the college years that most young adults define their moral and ethical identities." The workshops will include hands-on art making as well as discussion.
MOCRA is pleased to bring to St. Louis audiences this opportunity to enjoy and appreciate Kahn鈥檚 Judaica, with the hope that through these works visitors may come to a deeper understanding of their own faith traditions as well as those of others.
Tobi Kahn is an internationally acclaimed painter and sculptor. His work has been shown in 30 solo exhibitions and over 60 group and museum shows since he was selected as one of nine artists to be included in the 1985 Guggenheim Museum exhibition New Horizons in American Art. His work is found in the collections of major institutions throughout the United States, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and The Jewish Museum, New York, NY. His commissions include a large outdoor sculpture at New Harmony, IN, and two Holocaust memorial gardens, in Tenafly, NJ, and La Jolla, CA. A retrospective exhibition of Kahn鈥檚 painting and sculpture curated by Peter Selz, Metamorphoses, was shown at MOCRA in 1998.
Avoda: Objects of the Spirit was organized by Avoda Institute, Ltd., and curated by Laura Kruger. MOCRA is grateful for the generous support of Spinner Global Technology Fund, Ltd., in bringing this exhibition to St. Louis.
In their spare, meditative grace, these devotional objects express Kahn鈥檚 conviction that art can be a means of exaltation. | Laura Kruger
above:
Installation view of Avoda: Objects of the Spirit 鈥 Ceremonial Art by Tobi Kahn at MOCRA, 2003. Photo by Jeffrey Vaughn.
Related programming
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DoDo Jin Ming: Land and Sea |
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Radiant Forms in Contemporary Sacred Architecture: Richard Meier and Steven Holl |
Daniel Ramirez: Twenty Contemplations on the Infant Jesus, an Homage to Oliver Messiaen |
Avoda: Objects of the Spirit 鈥 Ceremonial Art by Tobi Kahn |
Tony Hooker: The Greater Good 鈥 An Artist's Contemporary View of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study |
Andy Warhol: Silver Clouds, an encore presentation |
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Bernard Maisner: Entrance to the Scriptorium |
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Steven Heilmer: Pietre Sante | Holy Stones |
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Frederick J. Brown: The Life of Christ Altarpiece |
Edward Boccia: Eye of the Painter |
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Keith Haring: Altarpiece 鈥 The Life of Christ |
Ian Friend: The Edge of Belief 鈥 paintings, sculpture, and works on paper, 1980鈥1994 |
Eleanor Dickinson: A Retrospective |
Post-Minimalism and the Spiritual: Four Chicago Artists |
Consecrations: The Spiritual in Art in the Time of AIDS |
Sanctuaries: Recovering the Holy in Contemporary Art, Part One |
Body and Soul: The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater |
Transformations: Highlights from the MOCRA Collection |
Georges Rouault: Miserere et Guerre |
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Georges Rouault: Miserere et Guerre |
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Highlights from the MOCRA Collection: The Romero Cross |
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Highlights from the MOCRA Collection |
Highlights from the MOCRA Collection |
Highlights from the MOCRA Collection |
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Highlights from the MOCRA Collection |
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Sanctuaries: Recovering the Holy in Contemporary Art, Part Two 鈥 Three Major Installations |
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Gary Logan: Elements |
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Tom Kiefer: Pertenencias / Belongings |
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Lesley Dill: Dream World of the Forest |
Jordan Eagles: VIRAL\VALUE |
This Road Is the Heart Opening: Selections from the MOCRA Collection |
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