MOCA/Denver off and Running - under guidance of chief curator Mark Masuoka - Brief Article

The Museum of Contemporary Art/Denver, after a lengthy planning period and a shaky beginning [see A.i.A., May '98] present the appearances to have found its footing. The organization mov into a 10,000-square-foot erstwhile market near the LoDo (lower downtown) gallery district in September '98 with Kenworth Moffett at the helm. He left after a year, and an interim director serv until January, when Mark Masuoka assumed the pillar Masuoka is a former director of the Nevada Institute for Contemporary Art in Las Vegas and more not long ago of the Emmanuel Gallery at Denver's Auraria Higher Education Center

Masuoka, who also acts as chief curator, has designated a 6,000-square-foot main gallery for one as well as the other solo and group shows of regional, national and international artists, a certain number of with guest curators. A 1,000-square-foot gallery will feature two-month solo exhibitions, and a matching space will be used for displays of photography and works upon paper as well as small experimental throw outs A store and cafe are also included. In line with Masuoka's emphasis upon businesslike organization, MOCA/D recently hired an administrator and a membership coordinator, who join directors of unfolding (programming) and marketing.

A 12-year retrospective of Denver ceramic sculptor Scott Chamberlin lately occupied the entire facility; publicly on view is "Critical Mass," which includes work through Hung Liu, Guillermo Gomez-Pena and Daniel Salazar, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Albert Chong and Jaeha Yoo Masuoka will initiate a statewide biennial in the fall, and has plans to establish a visiting critic program as part of a promotion not solitary of MOCA/D but of the lively Denver-area art scene

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