Eli Craven

July 7, 2025

I am thrilled to announce that I have received a 2025 DeHaan Artist of Distinction Award from the Indy Arts Council, supported by Christel DeHaan. This award is given to Indiana based artists and culminates in an artist exhibition at Gallery 924. To learn more about the award and the other DeHaan Artist of Distinction artists visit IndyArts.org/grants/dehaan-artist-of-distinction-award.

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March 20, 2025

I am one of eight artists selected for the Portfolio 2025 competition at the Atlanta Photography Group in Atlanta, Georgia.  The competition was juried by Jane’a Johnson, PhD, editor for Aperture.  It is an honor to be included among the seven incredible artists working in photography to be featured in this exhibition.  The exhibition opens on April 15th 2025 and will be on display through May 17th 2025.  There is an opening reception on Thursday April 17th from 7-9pm and a virtual Juror Talk on Thursday April 24th from 7:00pm to 8:30pm.  To get more information and see the list of included artists, check out their site at atlantaphotographygroup.org

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March 7, 2025

I’m honored to share that I have been awarded the 2024 Michael Aurbach Fellowship for Excellence in Visual Arts.  The award honors College Art Association members who currently teach studio art classes. The fellowship is intended to support these artists and their creative practice. They award one fellowship annually and I’m excited to be selected.  For more information and to see the excellent honorable mentions, visit collegeart.org

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February 25, 2025

I am pleased to have my work included in the Context 2025 exhibition at Filter Space in Chicago, Illinois. This is their eleventh annual survey exhibition of contemporary photography. This year's exhibition was juried by Shana Lopes, PhD, Assistant Curator of Photography at SFMOMA, and features the work of 27 artists. The exhibition opens on March 7th and will be on view through April 19th 2025. 

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February 24, 2025

I will have work from my Soap Opera series in this year’s regional exhibition OH, KY, IN at Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio.  This year’s regional showcase features 27 works from 21 artists from Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. The exhibition opens to the public on March 7th and will be on view through April 4th, 2025.  

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January 1, 2025

I’ll be starting off the new year by participating in the Critical Mass 2024 group exhibition at the Atlanta Photography Group in Atlanta, GA. The exhibition features works from the Top 50 finalists in the Photolucida Crititical Mass 2024 competition.  This year’s competition marked a milestone for Critical Mass, with one of the largest entry pools in their history with submissions from more than 26 countries and the Top 50 finalists hail from 9 different nations.  The exhibition will run from January 14 through February 8, 2025.

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December 3, 2024

A selection of new works can be seen at Kant Gallery in Copenhagen, Denmark in their Salon24 group exhibition on view from December 1st 2024 through January 9th, 2025.   The exhibition also features work from their gallery program including Kaspar Bonnén, Hans Van der Ham, Steen Ipsen, Christian Schmidt-Rasmussen, Asmund Havsteen-Mikkelsen, Joost Vandebrug, Peter Rothmeier Ravn, and Shane Brox. Get more information and see installation views at https://gallerikant.dk/

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October 5, 2024

I am thrilled to share that I have been included in the 2024 Critical Mass Top 50.  The international competition from Photo Lucida is highly competitive and it was an honor to be included in the top 200.  Now to say I have the honor of being a Critical Mass top 50 artist is an achievement.  Thank you to Photo Lucida and all the jurors that took the time to consider my work.  For more info check out the Photo Lucida site photolucida.org

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September 18th, 2024

I am excited to have my work included in the 2024 Unseen Amsterdam Photography Fair for the second year.  My work can be seen in the Kant Gallery booth along side the work of Martin Widmer (ZH) and Susanne Wellm (DK). The fair opens for a preview on Thursday 19 September, and will be open to the public Friday - Sunday, 20-22 of September.  Additionally, I have been invited to speak about my work at the fair on Saturday 21 September at 12:00.  For more information about available works visit the Kant Gallery site for a catalog of available works. gallerikant.dk

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August 30th, 2024

A selection of works from my Soap Opera and Screen Lovers series will be on view at Second Act Gallery in London, England along side works from Lydia McCaig. This two-person show will be on view from August 30th - September 21st 2024.  Our work was carefully curated by Alex Zawadzki creating a unique installation of our works together.  Visit the Second Act Gallery site for more information www.secondactgallery.co.uk/ 

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June 4th, 2024

I am pleased to have my work includeed in the upcoming group exhibition “New Aspects of Photography” at Kant Gallery in Copenhagen, Denmark, opening June 7th at 5pm. The presentation features my work along with the work of Torben Eskerod, Joakim Eskildsen, Joost Vandebrug, and Susanne Wellm. This curated exhibition is part of the Copenhagen Photo Festival in June and not only underpins how art photography has transcended over decades but more importantly how a chosen media becomes coherent with an artist’s intention. Additionally, the 5 exhibiting artists share a common interest in investigating how imagery can proceed the one-dimensional and how the physical experience of art photography can unfold numerous associations and multiple interpretations.

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May 7th, 2024

I’m honored to be included in the exhibition “Los Raros/Las Raras: New Narratives of Contemporary Collage” in Valladolid, Spain. The exhibition will be open to the public May 10th to July 7th, 2024 at The Municipal Exhibition Hall of La Pasión. This venue will be the epicenter of this unique exhibition experience.

Curated by Cless & Máximo Tuja, this exhibition is a milestone in the international art scene, bringing together over 90 artists from diverse disciplines, for whom collage is not a technique but a tool to explore new narratives and perspectives on the world around us.

Admission is free, offering a unique opportunity to immerse oneself in the world of contemporary collage. Free guided tours will be offered to the general public.

Thank you to Cless, Máximo Tuja, and the Weird Show for organizing this exhibition and for inviting me to participate.

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March 7, 2024

My solo exhibition Soap Opera is opening at KlompChing Gallery on March 7th, 2024. Although the Soap Opera works exist within the canon of photography, these are sculptural objects, that utilize the photographic form as part of their construction. I work with my own photographs, as well as photographic ephemera—all sited within hand-made frames. The frames, however, do not easily present the work; they dissect, obscure and extend 3-dimensionally to create a new viewing experience of the photographic form.  Soap Opera will be open through April 27th 2024.  Contact KlompChing for more information and available works. 

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December 31, 2023

I”m pleased to announce the opening of my solo exhibition Beholden at the Aurora Photo Center in Indianapolis, IN on January 5th, 2024. Beholden brings together images and sculptural pieces from several of my long-term projects, including Soap Opera, PPS, and First-Aid and Living Anatomy, as well as visual research completed when I was the 2022 Aurora + Herron Resident. Included in the exhibition are three mural-size works that expand on my typical print scale with wood overlays that complete the murals. Aurora’s Spring 2024 exhibitions explore current themes and methods for photographic artists working in abstraction. There is an opening reception on January 5th from 6-9pm and the exhibition will be on view through April 5th 2024.  Please visit the Aurora Photo Center’s website for more information about this exhbiition and their programming. 

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October 13, 2023

Filter Photo is pleased to present, I Don't Want to Fall In Love Again, a solo exhibition of work by Eli Craven.

This exhibition presents 21 recent works that have been transformed through sculptural, digital, and darkroom manipulation. Craven uses both found and original imagery to investigate the image's relationship to the body, sexuality, desire, and death. The artist is particularly drawn to what he describes as "the ubiquitous and mundane photography in self-help books, instructional guides, and family portraiture, which, upon close inspection, allude to a range of human fears and emotions."

The exhibition will be on view October 13th - November 18th 2023.  Learn more about Filter Photo and their programming at their site filterphoto.org

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September 21, 2023

I’m pleased to share I’ll be exhibiting new work at the Unseen Photography Fair in Amsterdam, Netherlands September 21 - 24, 2023.  The work will be shown with Kant Gallery, based in Copenhagen, Denmark.  Their booth will include work from Bert Teunissen (NL), Susanne Wellm (DK), and myself.  I’m excitied to work with Kant and to share the space with these excellent artists.  For more information about the fair visit unseenamsterdam.com and for more information via Kant Gallery visit their website gallerikant.dk

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September 7, 2023

Candela Books and Gallery will be presenting a few of my works in their booth at Art on Paper in NYC September 7th-10th. If you’re in NYC please stop by and check out my work and works from Peter Cochran, Liliana Guzman, Alma Haser, Caitlin Teal Price, Kahn & Selesnick, Alyssa Salomon, Harrison D. Walker, Woody Woodroof, and Willie Anne Wright.  Find them at Art on Paper, Pier 36, booth F17.  

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August 31, 2023

A selection of new works from my Soap Opera series will be in the group exhibition Altered at Candela Books and Gallery in Richmond, VA. The exhibition spotlights 4 artists currently working to manipulate the photographic image and features work from Alma Haser, Jason Carney, Adriene Hughes, and myself.  There is an opening reception on September 1st, 2023 at 5:00pm - 8:30pm and will be on view through October 24, 2023.  You can read more about the artists included and find infomration about Candela and their programs on their website. 

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August 26, 2023

I am excited to share a new collaborative project called Transitory Periods of Greatness created with Architect and Artist Maria Chavez. The exhibition will open on September 1st, 2023 at the Art Federation in Lafayette, IN and will be on display through October 29, 2023.  The project manifested through conversations about transition and the magnitude of change we are experiencing. The current iteration of the project takes form as an installation consisting of images and objects combined to investigate our relationship to the earth. Images of the natural landscape, both dead and alive, reflect gestures of resistance and acceptance. Clay, beeswax, and wood are utilized to draw material and formal connections to the image and suggest a cyclical exchange between the two. Through this work, we recognize the futility of our efforts to resolve our impact as artists and as human beings. Nevertheless, we aim to find beauty in the conditions of the transitory and the unknown.

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August 23, 2023

Selections from my collage series Carnale will be included in the group exhibition #Social at the CICA Museum in South Korea.  The exhibition is on display from August 23 through September 10 2023. See the CICA Museum website for details and images of the exhibition.

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March 19th, 2023

I am fortunate to be selected to participate in the Kolaj Institute’s Collage and Folklore Residency at the Knoxville Museum of Art in Knoxville, TN, March 19th - 24th 2023. I will create a series of collages exploring forms of folklore, history, and storytelling close to my family and community.  Selections from the residency will then be displayed in an exhibition at the MERZ Gallery in Sanquhar Scotland in September 2023 and additional collages will be published in a collage and folklore book coming in 2024.  Stay tuned for news on the exhibition and book. 

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March 10th, 2023

I have two works included in the Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana Regional Exhibition at Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, OH.  The exhibition will be open March 10th - April 7th 2023.  The exhibition includes 20 works from 14 artists from across the three state region.  Exhibiting artists include Lauren Anderson, Brochevski (Amai Rawls Jr.), Eli Craven, Noah DiRuzza, Ron Isaacs, Ellen Lyon, Antonio McAfee, Lisa Merida-Paytes, Priscilla Roggenkamp, Marc Ross, Lisa River Schenkelberg, Hedieh Sharifzadeh,  Stephen Tornero, and Sarah Zimmerman. 

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March 3rd, 2023

I will have a series of new works on view at Open House Contemporary in the Floor 2 Space as part of their new exhibition titled The Factory. The exhibition is opening to the public on March 3rd 2023 and includes new works from Kari Abromitis, Tom Lau, Ingrid Clark, Erik Peterson, Natalie Clark, John Preus, Preeti Samraj, Matty Kellen, Genevieve Wolf, and myself. 

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February 1st, 2023

I will be giving an artist lecture at the Herron School of Art and Design at IUPUI in Indianapolis on February 2nd at 1:00pm. I will be discussing my practice leading up to my Aurora Photo Center residency at the Herron School, the work I produced during the residency, and how the residency continues to influence my practice. The lecture is free and open to the public.

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December 7th, 2022

I will have work available in a pop-up exhibition in Indianapolis. For Two Days Only: On December 9 & 10, the Aurora Pop-Up Gallery will feature work for sale by over 20 Central-Indiana photographers and photo-based artists. An opening party on December 9, 6-9pm, will celebrate the artists and a great year for photography in our arts community. 

The Aurora Pop-Up Gallery will offer framed photography for sale by Adam Starr, Alex Anderson, Andy Eclov, Asli Narin, Charles Yang, Darrell Staggs, Debbie Winchester, Dycus the Photographer, Eli Craven, Eric Schoch, Jason Jones, Jay van Santen, Jessica Paullus, Justin Sicking, Lesley Ackman, Matthew Carroll, Mike Allee, Rita Rent, Sarah Kercheval, Steve Nyktas, and Trinity, and artist books from a:c print projects.

Aurora Pop-Up Gallery + Party
December 9-10, 2022
Sales Gallery Hours: 10am-9pm, December 9; 10am-6pm, December 10
Opening Reception + Party: December 9, 6pm-9pm
Free and open to the public
Aurora PhotoCenter at Re:Public, 2301 East 10th Street, Indianapolis

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October 19th, 2022

My work was recently featured in Issue #3 of Collé from Collage Incorporated. Collé is an exploration into the world of contemporary collage. You can join the community and subscribe to receieve future issues for free over at collageinc.com  

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September 30th, 2022

My solo exhibition Desire Lines is opening at Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio on September 30th 2022. It’s especially exciting to have an exhibition on display in Cincinnati during the FotoFocus Biennial. Manifest Gallery has a series of photo-based exhibitions during the biennial to kick off their 19th exhibition season.  The exhibition is on display September 30th through October 28th 2022. You can get more information about the exhibitons at Manifest at their website. 

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August 9th, 2022

We Like Small Things V. 5 is now on view at Filter Space in Chicago, IL and I’m pleased that one of my photographs is included in the exhibition.  We Like Small Things is Filter’s annual small works juried exhibition.  This year the juror was Jan Christian Bernabe, founder and director of FLXST Contemporary and Fracas Gallery in Chicago, IL.  The exhibition will be on view through October 22nd, 2022 with an opening reception on September 16th, 2022.  Check out Filter Photo’s website to see a complete list of artists.

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August 4th, 2022

I am excited to announce that I am a finalist in the Fresh 2022 annual photography competition at KlompChing Gallery.  In addition to being one of twenty artists on the shortlist, my work will be in a physical exhibiton at KlompChing Gallery in Brooklyn, NY opening September 15th 2022.  For more information about the twenty finalists and the five exhibiting artists in the physical exhibition, check out KlompChing Gallery’s website. 

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August 1st, 2022

I am thrilled to share that I have been awarded the August 2022 Aurora PhotoCenter + Herron Residency. I will spend two weeks in the amazing Herron School of Art darkrooms experimenting with found negatives using physical collage, double/multiple exposure, and assemblage. In the work I would like to explore the photograph’s relationship to death, memory, and desire while re-evaluating familial realtionships and ideologies of gender and sexuality often perpetuated through family archives. Stay tuned to my website and to my instagram @elicraven for progress on the residency during the month of August. 

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January 10th, 2022

I recently curated the exhibition Perpetual Ebb for the Purdue University Galleries. The exhibition includes seven artists exploring ideas of loss, fear, identity, and place through a lens of varied perspectives and photographic methods. Each artist utilizes photography in their practice - as a medium, a tool, an object, a reference, and in many cases a combination thereof. Perpetual Ebb evokes a sense of time and contemplation. The title may suggest a repetitive pattern, a sinking feeling, or an infinite abyss. Despite the solemn theme on the surface, the works in the exhibition conjure a sense of hope, curiosity, and awareness of that which troubles us.

The exhibition is located in the Rueff East Gallery and includes work by Rachel Cox, Sandra Erbacher, Merik Goma, Allison Grant, Jacinda Russell, Edra Soto, and Jiawei Zhao.  The gallery is open Monday - Friday from 10am - 7pm through February 4th 2022.

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January 7th, 2022

My work can currently be seen in the group exhibition Post Process at the Tippecanoe Arts Federation in Lafayette, Indiana. The exhibition feautres work from the photography department faculty at Purdue University. The exhibition is open to the public Monday - Friday from 9am - 5pm. 

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August 2nd, 2021

I have a solo exhibition of new works at the Telluride Arts District Gallery in Telluride, Colorado during the month of August 2021. The exhibition will feature selections from my projects “First Aid” and “The Living Anatomy.” The show is part of the Telluride Arts District’s “The Body Electric” series running throughout 2021. The opening reception is Thursday August 5th from 5-8pm. 

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July 21st, 2021

I am excited to share that my work will be included in the 31st Biennial at the South Bend Museum of Art. The SBMA Biennial presents a diverse look into contemporary artwork made by artists living in the Midwest. Open to artists residing in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin, this exhibition is an up-to-date dialogue of art happening in the midwest. The pool of exhibiting artists is deliberately limited to allow for the showing of a greater body of work by each artist. From 342 submitting artists, twelve were selected by juror Misa Jeffereis, Assistant Curator at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. The exhibition will be open July 24th through October 3rd 2021 with a recepetion on September 3rd. Find out more about the exhibition and the participating artists at https://southbendart.org/see/biennial-31
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November 12th 2020

Currently my work can be seen in the group exhibition Focal Point at the Foundry Art Centre in Saint Charles, MO. The exhibition was juried by Robin Assner-Alvey, Professor of Art at Webster University and focuses on how photography can be pushed to its fullest potential. An online version of the exhibition can be viewed on the Foundry Art Centre website.


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October 23rd 2020

I am honored to be included on the list of finalists for the Spring 2020 Hopper Prize grant awards. In addition to being featured on the website, the Hopper Prize organization recently invited me to do a follow up interview.  All shortlist finalists are featured along side the winners on the Hopper Prize website.  Take a look at the winner’s and finalist’s profiles at this link. Read my interview along with some new work in progress on their Journals page. 


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July 28th  2020

I recently worked with Lampoon Magazine in Milan Italy on a series of collages for their latest issue titled “Prototype.” The images feature products and design from Prada, Givenchy, Bonacina, and others. To order a copy of the publication and learn more about Lampoon, visit their site.


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March 9th 2020

The Weird Show has a new interview with me up on their site. Max-o-matic and I talk about my process, found photography, and the important role framing plays in the work. You can read my interview and see a great selection of other artists at their site theweirdshow.info


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December 12th 2019

I am excited to have my work included in the latest issue of Terrain, an academic journal of social and cultural anthropology published in Paris, France. Their latest issue “Censures” addresses censorship, freedom of expression, and forms of forced silence. To find out more about Terrain visit their page on openedition.org


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September 8th 2019

One year ago I toured the nuclear waste clean-up sites at the Idaho National Laboratory near Arco, Idaho with a group of artists.  Following the tour, the group processed the experience while creating new work for the exhibition Holding What Can’t Be Held.  The exhibition opens Saturday September 14th at Ming Studios in Boise, Idaho. The exhibiting artist’s include Irina Novarese, Kristen Cooper, Uli Westphal,  New Catalogue (Jonathan Sadler & Luke Batten), Astri Snodgrass, Bryan Moore, Candace Rood, Alek De Dochas, Tim Andreae, and myself. 


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August 12th 2019

I recently accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Photography in the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Design, Art, and Performance at Purdue University. I am proud to be joining an institution with such a rich history of innovation. With research that has led us around the world and into space, Purdue continues to hold excellent faculty and I am looking forward to working with such great people.


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May 28th 2019

I am excited to share that I have been awarded a grant from the Alexa Rose Foundation. I’ll be using the funds to maintain a Boise studio at the Gem Center for the Arts where I’ll be testing new work and continuing my collaborations with Maria Chavez.

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March 20th 2019

La Monnaie, the Brussels Royal Opera House is using my work for the promotion of the opera production “Les Silence des Ombres.” the production will run in the 2019 - 2020 seasons opnening September 2019. Visit lamonnaie.be for more information and to purchase tickets. 

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February 26th 2019

My work was recently published in Found Footage Magazine, a film studies journal devoted to the dissemination of found footage and collage cinema.  Visit foundfootagemagazine.com for more information and to purchase issues of the journal.

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