Filtering by: exhibition

Your Pet Here
Mar
22
to Dec 31

Your Pet Here

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Now more than ever, the support and love we are offered from our pets is essential to our well-being and overall morale. In times of crisis, we can look forward to the unconditional love we receive from our animal companions. ECOCA wants to see your furry, feathered, slithery, and slimy family members in celebration of the pure joy they offer us in times of difficulty.

KATHY CZEPIEL : DAILY NUTMEG NEW HAVEN
Works from Home | April 3, 2020

Press Release

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What Now?
Mar
22
to Dec 31

What Now?

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Amid the current health crisis, we are all left looking not only at our present, but ahead to our future - what do we do now? How is the current health crisis affecting you, and what does the future look like?    Novels such as Brave New World, Handmaid's Tale, Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 describe surreal and dystopian futures that now seem eerily all too real—so what is the new normal? What Now?

Humankind is resilient and mandated isolation results in creative adaptation and novel ways to connect. We want to amplify as many voices as possible during this time of solidarity and community.

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Press Release

BRIAN SLATTERY : NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
Ely Center Leaps Into Virtual Space | May 6, 2020

LUCY GELLMAN : ARTS PAPER
Ely Center Asks: What Now? | May 4, 2020

SUSAN DUNNE : HARTFORD COURANT
Artists around Connecticut are turning their emotions about the coronavirus pandemic into new works | April 12, 2020

KATHY CZEPIEL : DAILY NUTMEG NEW HAVEN
Works from Home | April 3, 2020


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Nov
24
to Dec 21

Solos 2019

Four solos presented by our selected artists for Solos 2019: Martha Lewis, Ellen Hackl Fagan, Barbara Marks, and Olivia Bonilla.

Opening Reception: December 1, 1 - 3 pm

Artist Talks: December 8 at 2 pm

Winter Public Hours: Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday from 1 - 5pm & by appointment

Holiday Closing: November 27 - November 30


Ellen Hackl Fagan

Immersed in Blue

“In 2014 I became focused on the core of my creative search and began by painting a small series of works on paper titled “Seeking the Sound of Cobalt Blue.” This series has evolved into floor to wall installations of large scale watercolor/pigments on rag paper, as well as on the floor, that explore the nature of printmaking processes, texture and surface.”

About the Artist

Ellen Hackl Fagan is on a quest to hear the sound of cobalt blue. Working with saturated colors when painting sensitized her to color’s communicative nature. Building connections between color and sound through abstract paintings, photography and interactive digital technologies, she seeks to create a synaesthetic language that pairs color to sound. She is developing The Reverse Color Organ and the ColorSoundGrammar Game, two interactive projects that enable viewers to explore the aural potential of color.

Her process walks the balance between randomness and intention, like jazz music, revealing limitless possibilities for improvisation. Fagan exhibits her artwork throughout the greater New York metropolitan area and maintains her studio and curatorial practice in Bushwick.

Ellen Hackl Fagan is the owner of ODETTA, an artist run gallery in Chelsea at Hudson Yards, NYC.


Barbara Marks

“I make small-scale, square, colorful paintings. My imagery is rooted in observation and it departs from it. I like to call attention to the commonplace and the local. I look where others don’t. There’s the external world—and then there’s me. My paintings are the intersection of the two. In that respect, they are intimate and personal; perhaps they’re narrative.

I choose to paint ordinary situations and particular places by manipulating color, shape, and composition in such a way that the possibility of multiple interpretations engages a viewer and invites closer investigation.

The way I paint is driven by my interest in abstraction as economy of expression, and by my fascination with the dual role that color can play both as content and as structure in a painting. I use color to create space.

My ongoing project, Recollection, is composed of sets of paintings made in a variety of places; serially they’re an evolving visual record, comprising 152 paintings thus far. Considered as a whole, the aggregate of small-scale paintings assumes a large scale and, at the same time, encourages intimate interaction.”

About the Artist

Barbara Marks is a multidisciplinary artist based in Connecticut. She is known for her small-scale, square, colorful, paintings that are semi-abstract in nature, suggesting interior spaces, landscapes, and objects—as well as her drawings and paintings on upcycled consumer packaging. Her work calls attention to the commonplace and the local. She looks where others don't.

A child of the sixties, Marks grew up in Westport, Connecticut. She attended college, studying anthropology, until she fell into graphic design. In 1978, she established her own studio specializing in book design. In 2001, she left that behind to study painting at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, earning a BFA (2005) followed by an MFA from Brooklyn College CUNY (2008). Since then, Marks has been awarded artist residencies in Italy, France, Portugal, and across the United States and has shown her work throughout the Northeast.


Olivia Bonilla

“Creating a world where color theory meets sculpture. My work explores personal nostalgia and indulgence through references to sweets, toy culture, and 80’s and 90’s retro flare. I’m interested in the idea of excess in today’s throwaway society. Using mediums such as sculpture and painting, I convey a “sugar coated” reality filled with over stimulation and re-appropriated ideas. Sprinkled pills, oversized diamonds, toys of an era, splashed with glitter and a wet gloss finish. My sculptures explore the feeling of a lustful existence and emotional desire, a combination of glutinous shinny landscapes who reveal childhood colors of cotton candy blue and bubble gum pink.”

About the Artist

Olivia Bonilla is an East coast painter and sculptor, born in Vermont in 1992. She runs a studio practice out of Old Saybrook, CT. Bonilla received her BFA in painting, with a minor in sculpture, from Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts. She has been a recipient of the Roberta B. Willis Scholarship along with the Chandler Scholarship in the years attending her BFA. Bonilla participates annually in curating a space at New Havens City Wide Open Studios. She has shown at the Affordable Art Fair NYC with current representation with Miller Gallery in Charleston, South Carolina.


Martha Lewis

‘Branes: this series of three-dimensional drawings are based on ideas from two branches of science:
On a minute scale, they reference the study of crumpled paper as a part of Topology, the mathematical branch concerns the properties that are preserved through deformations, twistings, and stretchings of objects.

Telescoping over to the vast: the term ‘Branes refers to membranes in String Theory, an idea in physics which posits that our universe is one in a multiverse: part of a ‘bulk’ of ‘Branes. M-Theory attempts to explain how the 4 forces (gravity, electromagnetism, strong and weak forces) in the universe might be unified. It also suggests what we used to call the Big Bang is the result of two flat ‘Branes colliding, crumpling and producing all matter and constants we see around us. There is implied movement and force along with the aspect of the discarded, the frustrated, the left behind, the abandoned idea…. A crumple is the visual residue of a climactic event.

About the Artist

Martha Lewis is a visual artist, curator, educator and radio presenter who has exhibited nationally and internationally. Her practice focuses on drawing, books, knowledge, and the history of science.

Martha’s work has been exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, The Tricycle Gallery and The Oxford University Botanical Gardens in the UK., and in the USA at The DeCordova Museum, Central Booking Gallery, Geoffrey Young Gallery, Planthouse Gallery, RealArtWays and The Tides Institute and Museum, to name a few. 

 She is included in the collections of Nuffield College, Oxford, The Boston Public Library, Boston, Ma., and Chapman University, Orange, Ca. where her work is on permanent display in the library, as well as in private collections in the U.S.A and Europe. A selection of her works on paper is available at  The Flatfile at Pierogi, and at Planthouse Gallery in New York.

 In addition to her studio practice, she currently hosts a radio show–Live Culture-now in its third year, on WPKN FM, which features discussions about contemporary art. These are listenable as podcasts here

 Martha is presently resident curator at The Institute Library in New Haven, where she organizes contemporary art exhibitions relating to words, books, archives or collections. She has organized 10 group shows to date.

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Oct
13
to Nov 10

Connecticut Watercolor Society Autumn Exhibition

Robert Sauber, “Backyard Mist”

Robert Sauber, “Backyard Mist”

The Connecticut Watercolor Society is hosting its juried Autumn Exhibition in the upstairs galleries. The Autumn Exhibition intends to highlight watercolor artists based in Connecticut; all work was created with water-based media. Selected submittees were eligible for five awards issued by the Connecticut Watercolor Society. Del-Bourree Bach served as juror.

Opening Reception
Sunday, October 13, 1 – 3 pm

Closing Party
Sunday, November 10

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Sep
8
to Sep 26

Postcards 5 x 7

New Haven Paint & Clay Club Fundraiser

September 26 Sale

The board members of the New Haven Paint & Clay Club (NHPCC) and the Ely Center of Contemporary Art (ECOCA) are thrilled to have co-sponsored a Postcard Art Show and Sale on Thursday, September 26, 2019 in conjunction with the NHPCC Selected Members exhibit. All pieces in the sale were 5x7 and donated by interested artists, flat-priced at $20. These pieces were collected and then placed on view up to the date of the sale on Thursday, September 26, 6 – 9 pm.

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May
5
to Jun 23

Sea and Soil // Water Access

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Two concurrent exhibitions, Water Access, guest curated by Fritz Horstman and Sea and Soilcurated by Debbie Hesse, take water as subject to explore our relationship to the environment.

Opening Sunday, May 5 from 2 – 4pm

View press release here.

Leila Daw, Never to Arrive, Burmese shwe chi doe tapestry and mixed media, 28 x 58 x 6 in., 2018

Leila Daw, Never to Arrive, Burmese shwe chi doe tapestry and mixed media, 28 x 58 x 6 in., 2018


Laura Barr, Ocean Elegy 18, oil on canvas, 38 x 48 in., 2019

Laura Barr, Ocean Elegy 18, oil on canvas, 38 x 48 in., 2019

Water Access
The Ely Center of Contemporary Art is proud to present Fritz Horstman as a guest curator in putting together Water Access. The artists in Water Access deal head-on with the ubiquitous and vital resource of water. Working in photography, sculpture, painting, drawing, and beadwork, they show their sensitivities to the complicated human relationship with water. Some of the work is overtly political in its environmental concern. Others depict its sublime qualities, its mundane aspects, the life it supports, or the ways in which we interact with it.

Curated by Fritz Horstman
Artists: Richard Barlow • Marilyn Crocker • Leila Daw • Daniel Eugene • Alexander Harding • Amy Jean Porter • James Prosek • Scott Schuldt • Gina Siepel • Joseph Smolinski


Sea & Soil
Sea and Soil includes works in diverse media by artists who share a fascination with ocean and earth ecosystems. Roots, soil, sea flora and related ecologies are explored thru paintings, photographs, constructions, living forms, socially engaged collaborations and performative actions to highlight beauty and awe as well as environmental concerns. Organic, often intersecting, rhizomatic projects and activities, inside and outside the building, create an incubator-like atmosphere to investigate lifeforms beneath us that nurture and sustain life. Through material investigation, research and augmented reality, hidden worlds come into focus, touching on ideas about stewardship, food security, global connectivity and spirituality.

Curated by Debbie Hesse
Artists: Laura Barr • Marion Belanger • Lys Guillorn • Allie Hornak • Briah Luckey• Cynthia Beth Rubin

Collaborations by: Ian Leung & Alice Wong • Nadine Nelson & Aly Maderson-Quinlog


A huge thank you to our sponsors & community partners!

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Jan
13
to Feb 21

Ear to the ground

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Opening Reception: Sunday, January 13, 1 – 3 pm

Winter Hours: Sun 1–4 pm, Mon 10 am-1 pm, and Wed & Thurs 2:30–5:30 pm

ECoCA is excited to announce Ear to the ground! Artists of all backgrounds and working across disciplines submitted their work for consideration in our 2018 – 2019 programming. Special guest curator Julie Torres selected 73 works from these submissions, which will be exhibited in Ear to the ground.

Image: Kathy Cantwell, Walking Line 53, 2018, encaustic on panel, 11 x 14 inches

Exhibiting Artists

Elizabeth Spangler
Fern Apfel
Tyler Carrillo-Waggoner
Tali Margolin
Blake Shirley
Grace Hager
Robert Dancik
Sabrina Marques
Brantner DeAtley
Sascha Mallon
Beth Caspar
Marieken Cochius
Kathy Cantwell
Barbara Marks
Sara Willadsen
Susan Meyer
Annie Sailer
Robert Zurer
Susan Carr
Niki Kriese
Beth Humphrey
Geoffrey Detrani
Julia Coash
JoAnne Lobotsky
Lisa Taliano
Yoon Cho
Jamie Romanet
Andrew Cunningham
Marcy Sperry
Sue Post
Peggy Klineman
Lillian P.H. Kology
McKenzie Chapman
Edith Lopez
Erin Smith
Edie Côté
Sam Kirby
Shauna Merriman
Denise Sfraga
Paul Behnke
Marsha Borden
Denise M. Oehl
Gwenn Mayers
Elisa Soliven
Sarah Schneiderman
Osvaldo Mesa
Scrap Wrenn
Anne Russinof
Pamela Fuller
Annamari Mikkola
Tracey Brockett
Kathy Osborn
Karl Goulet
Donnabelle Casis
Samantha Robinson
Joan Wheeler
Jane Ehrlich
Lawre Stone
Eileen Tavolacci
Lauren G. Levine
Tony Saunders
Sara Osebold
Ginna Triplett
Katherine Carey
Merilee Pritchard
Diane Dwyer
Doug Holst
Julie Shapiro
Linda Lindroth
Berly Brown
Marcy Rosewater
Gordon Fearey
Katie Jurkiewicz

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Oct
11
to Nov 11

#Unload: Pick Up the Pieces

  • Ely Center of Contemporary Art, 51 Trumbull Street New Haven, CT, 06510 (map)
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A collaboration with Artspace and Unload Foundation

October 11 – November 11

#Unload: Pick Up the Pieces, an unjuried, inclusive, community-driven exhibition at Ely Center of Contemporary Art, explores issues surrounding gun control laws and the impact of guns on society. The exhibition aims to raise questions regarding violence, safety, gender, equality, and the influence of media on violence and mental health stigmas.

Artists from diverse backgrounds and working across all media will create material-driven and conceptually-charged works either from decommissioned gun parts from a Hartford buy-back program or works inspired by the theme. The gun parts were selected from the Knolling Performance that took place at Artspace, July 12. The artworks can manifest in any medium, including drawings, paintings, photographs, sculptures, videos, installations, performance, and writing. The requirement is that the artwork reflects our culture’s divided attitudes towards gun control, gun safety, gun reform, the constitutional right to bear arms, as well as recent events relating to gun use, ownership, safety, and violence.

The exhibition will be a highlight of Artspace’s 20th annual City-Wide Open Studios festival. Thanks to our generous sponsors, there is no cost to be a part of the exhibition, and artists and collectives of all ages are encouraged to apply.

The exhibition will run from October 11 to November 11 complemented by artist talks, panel discussions, presentations by political candidates and other community notables and a voters registration table leading up to the November 6 mid-term elections. For a more detailed list of our events, please go to: www.elycenter.org/events-calendar/.

Two receptions will take place that are free and open to the public. The opening reception is Thursday, October 11 from 5–8 pm and the closing reception is Sunday, November 11, 1–3 pm.

Thanks to our sponsors:


Exhibition Gallery

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Lili Chin
Jan
18
to Feb 22

Lili Chin

  • Ely Center of Contemporary Art, 51 Trumbull Street New Haven, CT, 06510 (map)
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Transfigured Elements

Material elements shift, repeat and transform in this exhibition by New York based artist Lili Chin. The works in this show venture into transitional states to reveal layered and textured surfaces through drawing, video and abstraction. Glacial erratics and the ocean allude to time and metamorphosis, blending permanence with temporality to express nature in a constant flux of stasis and change. 

In addition, Chin will project a night time 2-channel video work titled Laelaps, inspired by the Greek mythological dog that was placed amongst the stars as the constellation Canis Major. The video diptych will be most luminous once night falls and will continue until daybreak. Her commissioned video project is a partnership between Ely Center and Yale-China Association in celebration of Lunarfest18 on February 17.  Join the artist for hot tea and rice wine February 17, 4:30 – 5:30 pm for its premiere. The video will be screening until February 25.

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Dec
3
to Jan 7

Sam’s Christmas Vinyl Lounge

  • Ely Center of Contemporary Art, 51 Trumbull Street New Haven, CT 06510 (map)
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A special lounge of holiday music—complete with framed vintage Christmas albums, an old school record player playing Christmas music, and comfortable lounge seats to help you  relax and listen to your favorite melodies. 

Some of the popular artists featured are Stevie Wonder, the Beatles, the Carpenters, as well as music from around the world like Jamaica, Italy, New Haven, and children’s music such as Alvin and the Chipmunks, Mickey Mouse, and Captain Kangaroo.

This is a special project of Sam Goldenberg who put this wonderful exhibit together!

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Broad Stripes and Bright Stars
Jun
29
to Aug 13

Broad Stripes and Bright Stars

Exhibiting Artists

Alteronce Gumby, Annie C. Thornton, Artcodex, Aude Jomini, Azzah Sultan, Bean Gilsdorf, Brian Edlefson, Buildface, Carol Diehl, Caitlin Cherry, Chico Aragao, Cey Adams, Chen Reichert, Chris Crawford, Christine Tinsley, Consuelo J. Underwood, Sr. Corita Kent, Daniel Eugene, Danna Singer, Daze, Destiny Palmer, Dooley-o, Eli Wright, Erika Ranee, Esperanza Mayobre, Gabriella Svenningsen, Helen Zughaib, Icebucket, Insook Hwang, James Esber, Jane Fine, Jay Critchley, Jeff Mueller/Dexterity Press, Jesse Albrecht, Jim Martin, John T Hill, Jody Williams, Karin Schaefer, Laura Genes, Laura Marsh, Laurel Porcari, Leslie Carmin, Lex Brown, Lisa Kereszi, Marion Belanger, Marc Morrel, Mark Olshansky, Mark Williams, Martha Lewis, Mauricio Cortes Ortega, Merritt Johnson, Michael Nÿkamp, Michael St John, Moussa Gueye, Natalie Ball, Natalie Baxter, New Haven Museum, Noe Jimenez, Paolo Arao, Phil Lique, Philip Knoll, Price Harrison, Rashmi, Robert D’alessandro, Robert Longo, Ruben Marroquin, Sket One, Stanley Forman, Stanwyck Cromwell, Sue Muskat, Susan Clinard, Stephen Shore, Sven Martson, Terrance Weinzierl, Tizzie Mills, Tom Strong, Vic De La Rosa, Walker Evans, Wayne Koestenbaum, Zeph Farmby and Zim-one.

On-site Happenings

From haute couture to picnicware, the American Flag  one of the most recognizable and ubiquitous branding symbols world wide. In the spirit of artist's  multiples "shops" like Barbara Kulicki and Marian Goodman's "Betsy Ross Flag and Banner Company" 1961 and Dread Scott and Kyle Goen's United We Stand Stand, "Flag Swag" will include an array of affordable limited edition multiples by artists: stickers, flair, zines to flags and fashion accessories, t-shirts  and much more.

A companion concept project to BROAD STRIPES and BRIGHT STARS, FLAG SWAG invites artists and designers to offer special edition multiples for sale at the Ely Center of Contemporary Art in a pop-up store on site and online.

Press Release

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