The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), incorporating the Young Artists Gallery, was a private gallery in

South Brisbane South Brisbane is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 14,292 people. Geography South Brisbane is on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, bounded to the nor ...

that existed from 1987 to 1994. Situated in adjacent buildings in South Brisbane, MOCA's address was 164 Melbourne Street, while Young Artists Gallery's entrance was at 23 Manning Street. The two-storey gallery was established in 1987 by accountant and art collector James Baker, guided by

art dealer An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art, or acts as the intermediary between the buyers and sellers of art. An art dealer in contemporary art typically seeks out various artists to represent, and builds relationsh ...

Ray Hughes, with the intention of focusing on contemporary Australian art. It was set as a non-commercial gallery, free to the public but with no government funding or subsidies.

Sasha Grishin Alexander "Sasha" Dmitrievich Grishin is an Australian art historian, art critic and curator based in Victoria and Canberra. He is known as an art critic, and for establishing the academic discipline of art history at the Australian National Un ...

, senior art critic of

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...

, reviewing the gallery's inaugural exhibition, compared it favourably with a contemporaneous exhibition at the

Queensland Art Gallery The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is an art museum located in South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. It complements the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) building, situated only away. The Queensland Art Galle ...

, saying that it "wins hands down on calibre and choice". Grishin described Baker's "megalomaniac vision" of the gallery as studio space, publisher and major education centre as somewhat "unreal", but praised his success so far. Its inaugural exhibition in August 1987, entitled ''Contemporary Art in Australia – A Review'', featured the work 67 artists, including of

Vivienne Binns Vivienne Joyce Binns (born 1940) is an Australian artist known for her contribution to the Women's Art Movement in Australia, her engagement with feminism in her artwork, and her active advocacy within community arts. She works predominantly i ...

, Fred Williams, Albert Tucker,

Danila Vassilieff Danila Vassilieff (22 March 1958) was a Russian-born Australian painter and sculptor. He has been called the "father of Australian modernism". Life Danila Ivanovich Vassilieff (Данила Иванович Васильев) was born in 1897 ...

, Jan Senbergs,

Ian Fairweather Ian Fairweather (29 September 189120 May 1974) was a Scottish painter resident in Australia for much of his life. He combined Western and Asian influences in his work. Life Ian Fairweather was born in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire, Scotland i ...

Keith Looby Keith Looby (born 1940 in Sydney, Australia), is an Australian artist who won the Archibald Prize in 1984 with a portrait of Max Gillies. Early life and education Looby was raised in the Sydney suburbs of Newtown and Bondi. He studied at Eas ...

Robert Klippel Robert Klippel AO (19 June 192019 June 2001) was an Australian constructivist sculptor and teacher. He is often described in contemporary art literature as Australia's greatest sculptor. Throughout his career he produced some 1,300 pieces of ...

, George Baldessin,

John Brack John Brack (10 May 1920 – 11 February 1999) was an Australian painter, and a member of the Antipodeans group. According to one critic, Brack's early works captured the idiosyncrasies of their time "more powerfully and succinctly than any Aust ...

, Davida Allen,

Peter Booth Peter Booth may refer to: * Peter Booth (painter) (born 1940), Australian painter * Peter Booth, Baron Booth, British businessman and Conservative life peer * Peter Booth (priest) (1907–1993), British Anglican priest and Archdeacon of Lewes * P ...

, and Paul Boston. The second exhibition, also in 1987 and accompanied by a catalogue of the same name, was ''Minimal Art in Australia'', a major survey of

minimalism In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

. The third exhibition, also in 1987, was a major retrospective of Queensland artist

Davida Allen Davida Frances Allen (born 20 October 1951) is an Australian painter, filmmaker and writer. Early life and education Davida Allen was born on 20 October 1951 in Charleville, Queensland. She studied under Betty Churcher at the Stuartholme Schoo ...

. In June–July 1988, the gallery featured an exhibition entitled '' Hilary Boscott: Anamnesis''. The gallery published several books, as well as a monthly periodical entitled ''M.O.C.A. Bulletin'', from September 1987 to issue 75 in May 1994.

References

{{coord missing, Queensland Arts centres in Australia Contemporary art galleries in Australia Defunct art museums and galleries Art museums and galleries in Queensland Art museums and galleries established in 1987 Art museums and galleries disestablished in 1994 1987 establishments in Australia 1994 disestablishments in Australia