The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Los Angeles - The Foundation of the Museum: MOCA’s Collection Exhibit
Installation view of The Foundation of the Museum: MOCA's Collection, May 19, 2019 - January 20, 2020 at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. Courtesy of The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). Photo by SPARANO + MOONEY ARCHITECTURE.
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ARCHITECTURAL TEAM | John Sparano, Anne Mooney, Ludwing Juarez, Jorge Beltran
PHOTOGRAPHY | Sparano + Mooney Architecture
STRUCTURAL | NAST Enterprises Corp.
The Foundation of the Museum: MOCA’s Collection marked MOCA’s 40th anniversary by presenting a curated panorama of its permanent holdings.
Over more than four decades, the museum has assembled a collection distinguished by both historical depth and experimental edge. This exhibition brought together works that reflect MOCA’s evolving curatorial vision, placing key pieces that shaped past shows alongside lesser‑seen acquisitions.
Rendered as a shifting landscape of artistic practice, the collection becomes a lens through which to consider memory, institutional identity and what it means for a museum to define its own legacy.
Installation view of The Foundation of the Museum: MOCA's Collection, May 19, 2019 - January 20, 2020 at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. Courtesy of The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). Photo by SPARANO + MOONEY ARCHITECTURE.
Installation view of The Foundation of the Museum: MOCA's Collection, May 19, 2019 - January 20, 2020 at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. Courtesy of The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). Photo by SPARANO + MOONEY ARCHITECTURE.
Sparano + Mooney Architecture provided design support, collaborating with the museum’s Exhibition Production group and designing gallery areas for exposition of the museum’s collection. Gallery areas were designed to comply with present building code requirements for construction and accessibility with strategic exposition of selected art pieces.
Sparano + Mooney Architecture generated permitting drawings for tenant improvement renovations to accommodate the exhibits; coordinated with the structural engineer; attended design meetings with the museum’s Exhibition Production group and architects; prepared a building permit application and submitted permitting documents to the Building Department and Fire Department for approval; and attended plan check review meetings to obtain the necessary building permit issuance while also providing architectural and design support during exhibit construction.
