Current Exhibitions

Laura Sanders: Force of Nature

May 16 – Aug 23, 2025

The Contemporary Dayton is proud to present a mid-career survey of work by Laura Sanders, an artist whose lush, photorealistic oil paintings of women and girls immersed in natural environments merge the genres of landscape and figurative work. Her subject matter considers the complex realities of women venturing beyond perceived safe places, as well as environmental concerns and the effects of consumerism. Another theme evident in this exhibition is the passage of time, as depicted in the portraits of her model, her daughter Elena, from a young child to an adult woman.

Erin Holscher Almazan

May 16 – Aug 23, 2025

The Contemporary Dayton is proud to present a new body of work by Erin Holscher Almazan. In these gestural oil paintings, Holscher Almazan examines the physical and emotional changes that naturally occur between a mother and her children, while reckoning with the fact that as her sons grow older, they also become more independent. In this series, she navigates this emotional space of attachment and detachment, of holding and letting go, through the use of color with an emphasis on hands and touch.

Christine Gaffney: Well-Balanced

May 16 – Aug 23, 2025

The Contemporary Dayton is proud to present a solo exhibition of the work of interdisciplinary artist Christine Gaffney. Her sculpture and videos act as intimate self-portraits and reflections on her psyche and the dualities of female identities. Gaffney portrays the dichotomy of what we present to the public versus what we keep to ourselves, often employing her own body as a sculptural object to express agency and to collapse the relationship between object and maker.