Threads of Memory, Beach’s latest installation, consists of large quilt tapestries and a site specific altar. Beach uses quilting and portraiture as a means to connect with the what it means to be black in America.

“My work is rooted in the rich tradition of African storytelling, a thread that runs through each piece I create. My ancestors and those of the African Diaspora are honored in my work, and through performance and installation art, I build sacred spaces for their souls to rest. My ultimate goal as an artist is to transform the horrific into the beautiful, to take the pain and trauma of the Black experience and turn it into something that inspires and uplifts. Recent and historical events related to the African-American experience and anti-Blackness inspire my work, driving me to explore these themes in new and thought-provoking ways.”

PATRICIA GRANDJEAN: DAILY NUTMEG
Everything and More | Nov 28, 2023

BRIAN SLATTERY: NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
Three Artists Follow the Moves | Dec 5, 2023

The Ely Center of Contemporary Art is pleased to present Andree Brown: Leaves of Durham. There will be a reception from 1 pm to 5 pm on Sunday, November 12. This event is free and open to the public. 

Brown’s sculptures are organic, abstract, and influenced by forms she finds outside. In her latest series of work, Leaves of Durham, Brown is playful with form and scale, taking liberties with both. Brown’s inspiration came from leaves she foraged in the woods of Durham, CT and has defined their character and given them voice. “There is a direct connection between trees and humans. Without trees humans could not survive and without humans, trees could not live.” Brown uses her sculptures as a means to connect with the natural world and learn how trees communicate with each other and us. 

PATRICIA GRANDJEAN: DAILY NUTMEG
Everything and More | Nov 28, 2023

BRIAN SLATTERY: NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
Three Artists Follow the Moves | Dec 5, 2023

Home is a group show featuring work developed during the pilot of our Keyhole Artists in Residence program. Using the former servants’ quarters to provide free studio space, ECOCA invited artists Amartya De, Lesley Finn and Vera Wu whose work touches on the subject of home in various interpretations. We invite you to see how working in the attic rooms of a Victorian mansion inspired and supported their work. Come see the dialogues that emerged during their stay.

PATRICIA GRANDJEAN: DAILY NUTMEG
Everything and More | Nov 28, 2023

BRIAN SLATTERY: NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
Three Artists Follow the Moves | Dec 5, 2023

November 29 5-7pm Ken Grimes: Evidence For Contact Book Signing

Grimes’ show at ECOCA overlaps with his latest show at NYC Gallery Ricco Moresca, Evidence for Contact, which coincides with the release of his book of the same title. Grimes’ work focuses on the question of extraterrestrial life, a topic he has been focused on for most of his life due to a series of coincidences which he interpreted as messages from aliens. Grime’s work has primarily been black and white and so his paintings demand careful consideration yet also play with fantasy, indeed making the viewer question the possibility of life out there.

PATRICIA GRANDJEAN: DAILY NUTMEG
Everything and More | Nov 28, 2023

BRIAN SLATTERY: NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
Three Artists Follow the Moves | Dec 5, 2023

Curated by Something Projects (Suzan Shutan & Howard el -Yasin)

The curators' state that in the book “Ways of Seeing” by John Berger, he suggests that we each see things in a way no one has before. By doing so, we discover something about ourselves and the world we live in. If nothingness is matter and energy, then it includes everything that exists within that nothingness. Can we see everything and nothing simultaneously? In traditional Chinese and Japanese art, the use of empty space or large areas left blank/unpainted are understood as information and considered a vital part of the artwork and composition. 

Our perception of realities are sensations that help us navigate the world, while our surroundings and our world is defined by the space we take up in it. The concept of there being emptiness and fullness in the same space is one that artists have long considered in their work. Abstraction refutes the Western world’s obsession with the visible and concrete. In nothingness a presence can be felt. In everything the material presence is seen. The artists’ work selected for this exhibition reveals an aspect of the autonomous inner essence of creation, as being everything and nothing, defining a way of seeing.

About SomethingProjects:  It is an artist-run curatorial project founded by longtime friends and co-directors Howard el-Yasin and Suzan Shutan.  As collaborators they are focused on empowerment and solidarity, studio productivity and communication among communities. They think holistically about  how a project can impact both an artist, and an audience's intersectionality. They believe value is highly subjective and their goal is to push how we understand value outside the margins of dominant culture. 

As a nomadic transitory and provisional space, SomethingProjects is an incubator for ideas, encouraging artists to step outside their boundaries and experiment with the intersection of materials, production, presentation and means of engagement with audience and space. Through collaborative projects,theybring together people of many different backgrounds- economic, geographic, geopolitical, age, BiPoc, queer and non-binary/gender identities. Their audience is all-inclusive and their projects are an opportunity to learn about one's neighbors, different ways of understanding art, acceptance of difference, and things happening within one’s everyday environment.

Brian Slattery: New Haven Independent
Artists Show ​“Everything And Nothing” At Ely Center | Nov 17, 2023

Patricia Grandjean: Daily Nutmeg
Everything and More | Nov 28, 2023

Featured Artists:

Meg Bloom
Serena Bocchino
Richard Bottwin
Seth Callander
Ellen Carey
Patricia Carrigan
Cynthia Cooper
Hyunsek Erickson
Gordon Fearey
Michael Filan
Greg Garvey
Ahna Girshick

Curated by Xinyi Liu and Rebekah Church

Emotion offers a fresh take on sequential art, with work by rising illustrators and recent graduates and current students from regional fine art programs including Central CT State University, Lyme Art Academy, RISD, School of the Art Institute, School of Visual Arts, and Yale, curated by Summer Fellows Rebekah Church and Xin Yi Liu. The work encompasses illustration, comics, moving image, video, and sculpture.

There will be free lunchtime tours on Wednesdays at 12:30pm starting September 13.

 eMOTION was made possible thanks to the Connecticut Office of the Arts- Arts Workforce Initiative and the Yale President Public Service Fellowship.

Curator Statement: This gallery showcases the signature possibilities of sequential arts, encompassing the progression from still images to moving images, evolving from single frames to multiple frames. We aim to provide a platform for young and promising artists who are seeking opportunities to exhibit their artworks, including illustration, comic books, manga, graphic novels, and animation. Artists can engage with potential buyers, selling their original and printed artworks, as well as copies of their publications/zines. Moreover, they can gain valuable experience and expand their professional network in a gallery setting, which is essential for their artistic career.

Through this exhibition, we strive to open new doors of opportunity for sequential artists while expanding the audience reach of the Ely Center. Visitors can appreciate the gradual transition from static images to dynamic videos and animations, experiencing the integration of motion and interactive elements in artworks.

BRIAN SLATTERY: NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
Sequential Artists Break The Frame | Sept 22, 2023

DAN MIMS: DAILY NUTMEG
Arthouse Flicks | Sept 28, 2023

Featured Artists:

Kim Abraham
Jun Cen
Suzy Chan
Juice Chen
Vanilla Chi
Rebekah Church
Yingda Dong
Jam Dong
Sophie Foulkes
Sophia Gaia
Rosalio Galvan
Lindsie Gero
Mary Jo Helchowski
Naon Jeong
Jiaqi Li

Juror: Del Bourree-Bach
Opening Reception: Sunday, September 10, 3-5pm

Featured Artists:
Ralph Acosta
Barbara J. Alex
Douglas Armistead
Bivenne
Margot Callahan
Sandra Cointreau
Justine Coleman
Christine Diehl
Gretchen DiGiannantonio
Silvia Drewery
Betsey Everts
Terry Donsen Feder
Lorraine Ficara
Marian Gansely
Stephen Henderson
Mary Lou Horan
Lisa Kassow
Earl Grenville Killeen
Jan Olsen
Grace Scharr McEnaney
Sharon Rowley Morgio
Anne B. Pierson, M.D.
Bob Perkowski
Stephen Plaziak
Jean Polka
Lori Rapuano
Ashley Rek
Robert Sauber
Vladimir Shpitalnik
June P. Webster
Cheri Weymann
Jeanette Wimmer
Andy Yelenak

Opening Reception: June 11, 3-5pm
Closing Reception: July 30, 1-3pm

Featuring artists selected from ECOCA’s 2023 Open Call.

This far-reaching exhibition explores the concept of embodied knowing, or that knowledge both resides in and can be conducted through the body. With a focus on art’s role in documenting complex processes of embodied knowing, the show celebrates the power of individual insights to deliver us to mass liberation. The artists featured in Embodied Knowledge each uniquely consider: how ritual, performance and labor cultivate a deeper sense of self in relation to society; how radical intimacy subverts prescribed social roles and formations, welcoming more instinctual ways of knowing; and how direct observation and introspection catalyze the transfer of wisdom across time, space, and constructed borders.

Artists: Faustin Adeniran, Lexi Arrietta, Constance Brady, James Leonard Buxton, Lauren Cardenas, Julia Cella, gwen charles, Stanwyck Cromwell, Andrew Demirjian, Sophia DeJesus-Sabella, Lisa DiDonato, Vincent Dion, Thompson Ekong (TSE), Julianna Foster, Andrae Green, Jonathan Virginia Green, Margaret Hart, Homosocial, Ali Hval, Margaret Jacobs, Samantha Jensen, Katelyn Kopenhaver, Ryan Lewis, Rosemary Meza-Desplas, Steven Montinar, Desiree Morales, Claudia Mullaney, Clara Nartey, Catherine Nelson, Mesoma Onyeagba, Chiara Baima Poma, Kate Rusek, Danyang Song, Remy Sosa, Ariana Stoll, Esmeilyn Tejeda, Yige Tong, Zella Vanié, Qiaosen Yang

BRIAN SLATTERY: NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
Artists Seek The Knowledge Within | June 28, 2023

CHRISTOPHER ARNOTT: HARTFORD COURANT
‘Embodied Knowledge’ comes alive at New Haven’s Ely Center of Contemporary Art | June 18, 2023

Opening Reception: May 14, 1-3pm

Showcasing the work of its members and regional artists through annual exhibitions, the New Haven Paint & Clay Club actively supports, encourages, and promotes exploration of and involvement with the visual arts in the Greater New Haven area and beyond. The club further engages local communities by sharing loaned artworks from its permanent collection, offering merit awards, scholarships, free programs and lectures, and other art related activities. 

 This year’s exhibit will be held at the Ely Center of Contemporary Art at the John Slade Ely House, 51 Trumbull Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06510. The exhibit will run from Monday, May 8th through Saturday, May 27th. The reception will take place Sunday, May 14th from 1-3 pm.  There will be multiple awards in excess of $4000 announced at the opening reception.  The Ely Center of Contemporary Art will be open Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 12-5 pm and Thursday from 3-8 pm. The juror for this exhibition is Robert Burns, the executive director of the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury, Connecticut. 

Learn more about the New Haven Paint & Clay Club here.

NHPCC Exhibition in the New Haven Independent

Curated by Kim Weston of Wábi Arts

April 2 - April 30, 2023

The exhibition Truth in Three Colors is inspired by legendary jazz artist Charles Mingus. Truth can not be bent. It can be interpreted therefore be manipulated into something else, yet the foundation of the truth remains. The selected artists take a look at what is true from their gaze and social circumstances.  

Wábi seeks to bring a diverse perspective to these truth seekers as their visual stories take you on a journey of birth and vulnerability, to love and healing. Suffering and sacrifice often balance between passion and possession while hope, loss and forgiveness often existing in the same space. These artists use sculpture, photography, spray paint, collage and various materials to transform narratives based in authenticity.  

Indigenous genocide, slavery, racism, chinese immigration, family, separation, love of flowers, political power, dreams lands in the African diaspora, black matter, material, and the ability to release are a few topics to explore in the many frames of truth in this exhibition. Bring your beliefs to the visual conversation called Truth In Three Colors. 

Featured Artists
Greg Aimé
Junior Charles
Tracie Cheng
Dooley-O
Howard el-Yasin
Bud Glick
Leonard Harmon
Linda Vauters Mickens
Aisha Nailah

Press Release

Opening Reception: Sunday, January 22, 1 - 3 pm

“My work explores identity by examining the relationships between individuals and their environments through photography, video, drawing, and performance. The necessity to adapt to new places deeply impacted me to examine the connection with our surroundings. Growing up in Korea and living in many different cities from the metropolis of New York to suburban Texas, I have learned about nuances beyond the obvious differences in each location. Through my daily observations of these subtleties, I became increasingly interested in depicting matters that we are aware of, but which may not be physically visible. In my work, I utilize the simple graphics as clues to visualize these invisible themes.

I often pose in my photographs and videos. I work with an assistant who presses the shutter after I set up the camera composition. Subsequent to editing photographs and video, I create graphics with a digital pen on a digital drawing tablet to develop a narrative. The digital process of creating graphics lets me work on multiple versions of compositions before I select the desirable one while preserving the integrity of the hand drawn qualities of drawings with a pen on paper. As a following step of the digital process, I superimpose the drawings over the image of myself performing. The final output of the work is a series of photographic prints and videos. The result is the observations made in different social and physical settings while building a new identity by adapting and conforming to the new surroundings.”

— January Yoon Cho

Exhibition List

Press

Presented with Yale-China Association

January 22 - February 19, 2022
Opening Reception: Sunday, January 22, 1 - 3 pm

Opening Reception: Sunday, January 22, 1 - 3 pm

Kit Hung graduated from the MFA program from the Department of Film, Video and New Media, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His films have won numerous international awards, and was screened at over 160 international film festivals. His debut feature "Soundless Wind Chime" (2009, Hong Kong/Switzerland/China) was nominated for the Teddy Award at the Berlin International Film Festival and won him Best Director and Best New Director in Spain, Italy and Canada. His second feature “Stoma” was primed in the Taipei Gold Horse International Film Festival, Taiwan. He is currently working between Hong Kong and London, being a researcher in the PhD program in Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK and is teaching film studies and film production at the Academy of Film, Hong Kong Baptist University. His main research interest are Cinema Affects, Hauntology and Queer Asian Cinema.

Press

Opening Reception: Sunday, January 22, 1 - 3 pm

Carol Boynton
Frank Bruckmann
Eoin Burke
Diane Chandler
Elena Gerard
Heidi Harrington
Ruth Johnson
Candace Klein
Todd Lyon

Press

AKWAABA (WELCOME)

“In this moment there is an opportunity to reconnect. These past few years have separated us on many levels through social distancing, especially when it comes to art. Though there have been countless digital exhibitions - this one physically opens its doors to your eyes and your soul. Home is where art is seen everyday- in furniture, upholstery, paintings, clothing and more. Home is intimate. Join us as we, share with the viewer our appreciation for connectivity beyond virtual hugs.”

Shaunda Holloway

Organized by Shaunda Holloway
Curatorial Advisory Committee Member

January 22 - February 19, 2023
On-site at ECOCA

Opening Reception:
Sunday, January 22, 1 - 3 pm

Ridha Ali
Susan Clinard
Clymenza Hawkins
David Holzman
Shaunda Holloway

Winter Hours:
Sundays 12 - 6 pm
Wednesdays 12 - 6 pm
Thursday 12 - 6 pm
By appointment

AKWAABA (WELCOME)

“In this moment there is an opportunity to reconnect. These past few years have separated us on many levels through social distancing, especially when it comes to art. Though there have been countless digital exhibitions - this one physically opens its doors to your eyes and your soul. Home is where art is seen everyday- in furniture, upholstery, paintings, clothing and more. Home is intimate. Join us as we, share with the viewer our appreciation for connectivity beyond virtual hugs.”

Shaunda Holloway

Organized by Curatorial Advisory Committee Member Shaunda Holloway

November 13 - January 5, 2023
On-site at ECOCA

Opening Reception:
Sunday, November 13, 1 - 3 pm

Susan Clinard
Clymenza Hawkins
David Holzman
Shaunda Holloway

Winter Hours:
Sundays 12 - 6 pm
Wednesdays 12 - 6 pm
Thursday 12 - 6 pm
By appointment

BRIAN SLATTERY : NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
Artists Go Home And Abroad At The Ely Center | November 17, 2022

Primal Affinities @ ECOCA

Curated by Debbie Hesse

November 13 - January 5, 2023
On-site at ECOCA

Opening Reception:
Sunday, November 13, 1 - 3 pm

Steven DiGiovanni
Linda King Ferguson
Donna Forma
Becca Lowry
Greg Slick
Kim Weston

Exhibition List

Winter Hours:
Sundays 12 - 6 pm
Wednesdays 12 - 6 pm
Thursday 12 - 6 pm
By appointment

BRIAN SLATTERY : NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
Artists Go Home And Abroad At The Ely Center | November 17, 2022

MIRANDA JEYARETNAM : ARTS PAPER
In "Primal Affinities I," Artists Bring The Outside In | December 12, 2022

GENESIS
Window Paintings & Letterpress Prints
by Jonathan Weinberg

September 11 - January 5, 2023
On-site at ECOCA

Opening Reception: Sunday, September 11, 1 - 3 pm
ECOCA Block Party: Sunday, October 2, 2 - 5 pm
In Discussion: Jonathan Weinberg’s GENESIS: Sunday, December 4, 3 pm

Winter Hours:
Sundays 12 - 6 pm
Wednesdays 12 - 6 pm
Thursday 12 - 6 pm
By appointment

Jonathan Weinberg, Ph.D. is an artist and art historian. He is Curator of the Maurice Sendak Foundation. He is the author of several books including, Pier Groups: Art and Sex Along the New York Waterfront and Ambition and Love in American Art. He is the recipient of numerous grants, residencies and fellowships, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and he was an artist-in-residence at the J. Paul Getty Research Center and the Addison Gallery of American Art. He was the lead curator for the touring exhibition Art After Stonewall, 1969-89 and he is the curator of Wild Things Are Happening: The Art of Maurice Sendak which opens at The Benton Museum of the University of Connecticut in late May of 2022. His paintings have been included in exhibitions at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Leslie Lohman Museum, The Montclair Art Museum, The Yale Art Gallery and The Rhode Island School of Design Museum.

BRIAN SLATTERY : NEW HAVEN INDEPENDENT
Ely Center Gets Religion | September 20, 2022