Group Show by Think About Water, a collective of ecological artists and activists
April 14th – June 2nd | Ely Center of Contemporary Art New Haven CT USA
Opening Reception: April 14, 1-3 pm w/ Performance by Water Women at 2:00 pm
& Open Studios @ ECOCA’s Keyhole Workspace Residency 1-5 pm
Earth Day Celebration: April 21, 1-3 pm w/ special guest New Haven’s Poet Laureate Sharmont “Influence” Little
Closing Reception: June 2, 3-5 pm w/ Morning Walking Tour of New Haven’s Bio Swales TIME TBD
The Ely Center of Contemporary Art is pleased to present the work of Exquisite River, a collaborative installation created by members of the Artists Think About Water collective (TAW), meanders through two galleries at the Ely Center of Contemporary Art (ECOCA) in New Haven, CT from April 14 – June 2, 2024. TAW includes over 30 environmental artists/activists in the US and abroad whose work addresses global water issues. Exquisite River is composed of 19 works of art evoking rivers. The images are connected to one another to form one continuous flowing river—a river of images of rivers.
For the exhibition at ECOCA, the 19 artists were inspired by the format of the Surrealist Exquisite Corpse game, in which one artist drew a head, folded the paper so it could not be seen, passed it to another artist who drew the next part of the body, and so on until the paper was unfolded to
reveal the whole figure. In the spirit of artistic play and mimicking the fluid nature of rivers, the TAW collective has created an Exquisite River.
For the exhibition, each artist created a section of a river in his or her own studio using their distinctive materials, processes and intentions and without seeing other artists’ contributions. The sections were then assembled into one long river that winds across the gallery walls. The goal of the exhibition is to bring awareness to the importance of rivers to the health of the environment and to encourage visitors to appreciate a river in their own lives.
Personal stories about each of the rivers represented in the exhibition, along with information about the artwork, bios of the artists, and links to their websites are available in a digital catalog accompanying the show.
Contributing Artists: Michelle Boyle, Diane Burko, Betsy Damon, Leila Daw, Rosalyn Driscoll, Susan Hoffman Fishman, Doug Fogelson, Fredericka Foster, Giana Gonzalez, Fritz Horstman, Basia Irland, Sant Khalsa, Stacy Levy, Jaanika Peerna, Ilana Manolson, Aviva Rahmani, Lisa Reindorf, Meridel Rubinstein, Leslie Sobel, Naoe Suzuki
IMAGE: Leila Daw, Exquisite River Delta, 2023
About ECOCA: The Ely Center of Contemporary Art’s mission is to reaffirm Grace Ely’s testamentary wishes for an art center where artists, arts organizations, and the public assemble, exchange, learn, and engage through exhibitions, performances, and emerging contemporary practice.
ECOCA Winter Hours: Wednesdays, Thursdays & Sundays: 12 pm to 5 pm
ECOCA’s Environmental Leadership for Artists programs are supported by the City of New Haven’s Creative Sector Relief Fund. ECOCA’s programs are also made possible thanks to support by Connecticut Office of the Arts, New Alliance Foundation, Wells Fargo, and Friends of John Slade Ely House of Contemporary Art.
Please contact Aimée Burg, aburg@elycenter.org, Gallery Director, for more information and high-resolution images.
Click here for online catalogue :
Poem printed on Irish linen/ watercolour painting with Blackwater river water on silk 96 x 81 cms
“For the past five years I have been painting, swimming and collaborating on water projects in and around Lough Ramor and the Blackwater River in Ireland where I live.
This poem and painting came about after hearing a fisherman speak about these waterways at a public environmental meeting.
His observations were informed by a lifetime spent standing in the River Boyne. He spoke clearly and passionately about this magnificent river, known for its rich myth and beauty, it now suffers from pollution and loss of biodiversity.
On the way home from the public meeting I stopped on the all seeing Nine Eye Bridge, and thought about the Blackwater River running beneath and what it might be saying to me.
I believe the fisherman speaks for the river, for water everywhere and that his words are a universal call to us all.
That our actions matter and that the truth matters “ Michelle Boyle