CURRENT EXHIBITION
40th Annual Rhode Island Open Exhibition
OCTOBER 7 – NOVEMBER 20, 2026
Em Loren – Coffin Bed
FREE ADMISSION
WED–SAT 12–5 PM
RECEPTION
10/8 – 6:30M
3259 POST ROAD
WARWICK, RI
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
NO THEME. NO RULES. JUST THE WORK.
For 40 years, the Rhode Island Open has asked one question of the state’s artists: what are you making right now? There’s no theme to answer and no box to fit. Any artist 18 or older who lives or works in Rhode Island can enter, in any medium, at any stage of their career. Every entry is juried blind from images alone, so the work is judged on its own terms and not by the name attached to it. This year, 40 artists are showing 49 works, and the result is the clearest snapshot we have of what’s being made in Rhode Island today.
“What are you making right now?”
THE WORK
49 works by 40 artists
40 YEARS OF RHODE ISLAND SHOWING US WHAT THEY CAN DO
An open call means anything can walk through the door, and it does. We have a huge range, spanning painting, photography, sculpture, collage, and work that sits somewhere between. Some artists are showing in a gallery for the first time. Others first hung work here decades ago. Both belong on the WCFA’s walls.
COME AND SEE WHAT RHODE ISLAND IS MAKING
Richard Whitten grew up in Manhattan, NY, a child of Asian and American parents. He earned a B.A. in Economics from Yale University and an M.F.A. in Painting from the University of California at Davis where he studied with both Wayne Thiebaud and Robert Arneson. He has had numerous exhibitions on both coasts. He is presently a Professor of Painting at Rhode Island College recently completing a term as Department Chairperson. He is honored to have received a 2023 Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant and a 2024 Residency to Yaddo. You can read more about Richard’s work at https://www.richardwhitten.com/