Past Exhibitions

Browse the chronological list of past exhibitions at the Saint Louis University Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCRA), or search for a specific exhibition. Click “View” for more information about an exhibition. If you need further information about an exhibition, please contact us.

Name

MOCRA at Fifteen: Good Friday

Dates

February 15, 2009 to May 17, 2009

Description

On February 14, 1993, the world’s first interfaith museum of contemporary art opened its doors. Fifteen years later, Saint Louis University’s Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA) continues to serve as a forum for the ongoing dialogue between today’s artists and the major faith traditions. MOCRA celebrates this milestone with two fifteenth-anniversary exhibitions drawing on artists and artworks selected from the museum’s 35 exhibitions. In Fall 2008 the first exhibition, Pursuit of the Spirit, set works by over 40 artists in dialogue with each other, exploring themes such as Sacred Spaces, The Sublime, Mother and Child, and Image and Text.

The second exhibition, Good Friday, presents works by over 30 artists of diverse backgrounds who have used the events of the day of Jesus’ death as inspiration for their own reflections on such themes as faith, suffering, loss, compassion, and unconditional love. The selected works are drawn from the MOCRA collection and works on long-term loan, and employ a wide range of media from painting and sculpture to fiber arts.

Some works employ familiar images such as Hans Holbein’s The Dead Christ in the Tomb (1521), or Heinrich Hoffmann’s Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (1890), while others make use of traditional devotions such as the Stations of the Cross. Many of the artists translate the events of Jesus’ Passion to contemporary situations and draw forth a variety of insights, from the personal to the political.

Artists in the exhibition include:

Reflecting on Good Friday is a booklet of self-guided reflections on the art included in the exhibition, particularly appropriate for the Christian season of Lent. Partially inspired by the Stations of the Cross, it is structured around six episodes which are reflected in the works in the Good Friday exhibition. For each of these episodes, in addition to a brief summary of the episode and its significance, we provide a a reflection and reflection questions on a related artworks, along with relevant passages from the Christian Bible and space for notes or journaling.

Download a copy of Reflecting on Good Friday.

above:
Installation view of MOCRA at Fifteen: Good Friday at MOCRA, 2010. Photo by Jeffrey Vaughn.

Related programming

Art and the Religious Imagination

Related MOCRA Voices episodes

Watch Art and the Religious Imagination, Part One and Part Two on the MOCRA Voices Vimeo channel

Show entries

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Exhibition
Open Hands: Crafting the Spiritual January 28, 2024 to May 19, 2024 Open Hands: Crafting the Spiritual assembles the work of six intergenerational artists from across the country who use everyday materials, found objects, and elements of craft production to explore issues related to faith and spirituality, personal and cultural identity, and tradition and ...
Selections from the MOCRA Collection September 06, 2023 to December 17, 2023 Enjoy a look at some of the most popular works in the MOCRA collection, along with recent acquisitions and lesser known gems. In particular, we pay tribute to the late James Rosen (1933–2023). In a career spanning more than six decades, Rosen demonstrated a keen under...
Vicente Telles and Brandon Maldonado: Cuentos Nuevomexicanos March 19, 2023 to June 25, 2023 Engaging a Living Tradition Artists Vicente Telles and Brandon Maldonado are forging new links in the chain of the continuing story of the people of New Mexico. Telles is firmly rooted in the Santero tradition (the making of santos, or images of saints), w...
$Jordan Eagles: VIRAL\VALUE$ Jordan Eagles: VIRAL\VALUE October 26, 2022 to December 18, 2022 Medium and Message Jordan Eagles is the master of a most unlikely medium: blood. His signature preservation technique permanently retains the organic material’s natural colors, patterns, and textures. In recent years, he has produced works made with donated human bloo...
Lesley Dill: Dream World of the Forest August 24, 2022 to October 16, 2022 MOCRA is pleased to present three new collage-paintings by Lesley Dill, an American artist who works at the intersection of language and fine art in sculpture, printmaking, installation and performance, exploring the power of words to cloak and reveal the psyche. Dill transforms the emotions of t...
This Road Is the Heart Opening: Selections from the MOCRA Collection August 24, 2022 to December 18, 2022 The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated harmful systemic inequities and our responsibility to name and respond to them. Simultaneously, we are recognizing the importance of attending to our own well-being in mind, body, and spirit, a holistic vision of human wellness that Ignatian spirituality refe...
Double Vision: Art from Jesuit University Collections February 16, 2022 to May 22, 2022 Three museums and seven centuries of art Double Vision: Art from Jesuit University Collections speaks to the unique role of art in Jesuit teaching as an instrument for finding meaning in life through imagination, feelings and reflection. The exhibition features 28 works ...
Tom Kiefer: Pertenencias / Belongings September 03, 2021 to December 19, 2021 In July 2003, fine art photographer Tom Kiefer started working part-time as a janitor and groundskeeper at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing facility near Ajo, Arizona. In mid-2007, he was given permission to collect food confiscated from migrants and asylum seekers and donate it to...
Quiet Isn't Always Peace February 03, 2021 to May 20, 2021 People everywhere were captivated as Amanda Gorman delivered her poem The Hill We Climb on the steps of the Capitol on Inauguration Day. Her cascading cadences of imagery alluded to orators of the past but unequivocally asserted her own voice in addressing the present moment. A short phrase from...
Surface to Source February 05, 2020 to November 22, 2020 For his first show curated as Director of MOCRA, David Brinker delves into the MOCRA collection, bringing out works that haven’t been shown in a number of years and juxtaposing them with perennial favorites. The works from the collection are joined by several works on loan. Meanwhile, the remov...

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Past Exhibitions

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