CONCEPTUAL ROMANCE

Exhibition Dates: September 14 - November 2, 2025   

Opening Reception: Sunday September 14, 1-3pm
Curatorial Walkthrough, Sunday, September 14, 2pm

The Ely Center of Contemporary Art opens its fall season with Conceptual Romance, a group exhibition drawn from more than 600 submissions to its annual open call invitation to artists.  Guest Curator: Jared Quinton, Emily Hall Tremaine Associate Curator of Contemporary Art, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT

Marking en years of ECOCA and the seventh consecutive year of the signature Open Call program, this interdisciplinary exhibition offers a window into the wide range of work being produced by visual artists in this moment, and will feature textile-based installations, provisional sculptures, photographic paintings, and site-responsive conceptual projects, among other media.

Curator Jared Quinton says: 

“The 23 artists featured in Conceptual Romance create propositions that engage our intellects and emotions at the same time. Working from diverse perspectives across a range of disciplines, these artists share an understanding that art’s real meaning always exceeds articulation. They use materials, images, and formats that look and feel familiar, yet the works retain an air of mystery, seducing viewers into the realm between objects and ideas.” 

Exhibition Dates: September 14 – November 2, 2025, with an artist reception Sunday September 14, 1-3pm,  with a Curator Walkthrough at 2 pm.

With: 

Diana Abouchacra

alejandro t. acierto


Becky Bailey

Miguel Bendaña

Fernando Colón-Gonzalez

Charlie Crowell

Renata Daina

Tielin Ding

Adam Farcus

Jackie Furtado

Nahom Ghebredngl

Jamey Hart

Dani Lewis

Maisy Lewis

Maria Yolanda Liebana


Monika Malewska

David Morrison


Gelah Penn

Shauna Steinbach

Jessica Tang

Ezra Thompson

Amy Wang