Attraction to Abstraction 2026

Wayne Art Center in Wayne, Pennsylvania is pleased to announce this year's Call for Entry for Attraction to Abstraction 2026 a JURIED EXHIBITION accompanying CraftForms, the 31st International Exhibition of Contemporary Fine Craft.

Regional artists 18+ are invited to submit up to three abstract Paintings, Works on Paper, Photography, Mixed Media and Fiber Works for juror consideration for this exhibition. Work should have been created in the last two years and not previously shown at WAC. All pieces must be at least 24 inches in each direction (may include frame) to be eligible.

Vlad Milan Duchev serves as Juror for Entry for this exhibit.

Attraction to Abstraction 2026 will remain on view from December 6, 2026 through January 23, 2027 in Wayne Art Center's Vidinghoff & Radnor Township Galleries and will debut on December 5, 2026 the evening of this year's CraftForms Preview Party.

An exhibition fee of $25 per piece for up to three pieces will be processed with registration.

Call for Work for Attraction to Abstraction 2026! 
Thank you for your interest in Wayne Art Center’s Attraction to Abstraction 2026 exhibition!  Each year Wayne Art Center is proud to showcase abstract Paintings, Works on Paper, Photography, Mixed Media and Fiber Works created by Regional Artists during CraftForms. This exhibit will be on view from December 6, 2026-January 23, 2027 in WAC's Vidinghoff and Radnor Township Galleries at Wayne Art Center in Wayne, Pennsylvania. 
 

Nancy Campbell, Executive Director and Chief Curator

Pam McLean Parker, Exhibition and Program Coordinator

Karen Louise Fay, Director of Marketing and Events

This JURIED CALL FOR ABSTRACT WORK is for regional artists and is hand-delivery only.

Eligibility Requirements

Open to WAC students, WAC members and regional artists 18 years of age and older.

Eligible media includes Painting, Works on Paper, Photography, Mixed Media and Fiber Works. 

Work should have been completed since January 2024.

Works previously exhibited at Wayne Art Center are not eligible. 

Work must be For Sale. 

All accepted work MUST BE HAND-DELIVERED TO AND RETRIEVED FROM Wayne Art Center. NO shipped work will be accepted. NO exceptions.

Artwork must remain on display throughout the duration of the exhibition.

Wayne Art Center reserves the right to use digital images of artwork from Attraction to Abstraction 2026 for exhibition promotional use.

​​Entry Information
Regional Artists should register their work through the Call for Entry on the CaFE submission platform.  New CaFE users will need to create an account with the platform before applying.  Prior CaFE users should log-into their accounts to apply.  All applicants should add jpegs of their artwork to their CaFE portfolio before beginning their application for Attraction to Abstraction 2026. 

All images should be at least 300 dpi resolution.  File Format:  JPEG or JPG only. File Size under 5mb. Please name each jpeg file with the TITLE of the work.  Please list all 2-D work with the overall size of the work INCLUDING FRAMING.

Artists may submit one CaFE application for ONE, TWO or THREE pieces. 

The entry fee is $25 per piece for up to three abstract works.  Entry fees are non-refundable.

Applications on the CaFE platform will not be finalized until the entry fee has been paid.  Entries must be complete and submitted by midnight MDT, October 21, 2026.  

Please create your submission listing with care!  Exhibition inventory for works included in this exhibit will be created from your submission listing. Updates, edits and changes to any part of listings for title/medium/size/price of work for the in-gallery exhibition can be made only by contacting WAC. A $20 administrative fee applies to any requested changes. Artists are asked to carefully review submission info before completing entry.

Juror of Entry - Vlad Milan Duchev

Vlad Milan Duchev was born in 1965 in the small town of Pokrov, Ukraine. From an early age, he was drawn to the quiet depth of Russian and Ukrainian impressionist painting —works where light, atmosphere, and suggestion carried more weight than detail. At the age of eight, he entered an art school in Bila Tserkva, beginning a formal path toward becoming a painter. That path shifted at age fourteen, when he followed his musical family’s direction and committed to classical training. He studied double bass performance at the Music College of Zhytomyr, the Music Academy of Kharkiv, and later at the National Conservatory of Ukraine in Kyiv. Yet painting never left. It continued alongside music — less as a discipline, more as a necessity. Where music demanded precision and interpretation, painting offered a different kind of space — one that allowed for openness, for searching, for something less defined and more personal. In 1994, he moved with his family to the United States amid uncertainty in Ukraine. He now lives and works in Baltimore, Maryland. Over time, these parallel paths — structure and freedom, discipline and intuition—have shaped his approach to painting. His work reflects a continuing search for clarity through reduction, where what is left unsaid carries as much presence as what is seen.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Online Registration with the CaFE Platform Accepted
September 22-October 21, 2026

Final Deadline to Register
Wednesday, October 21, 2026 - Midnight MDT 

Notification to Artists
Saturday, October 31, 2026 

HAND-DELIVERY OF INVITED WORK
Monday, November 23, 2026 10am-12pm - Vidinghoff Gallery 

Exhibition
December 6, 2026 - January 23, 2027  Vidinghoff  & Radnor Township Galleries 

Visit wayneart.org for gallery hours and visitors information.

CraftForms Preview Party
December 5, 2026 - a Ticketed Event

Exhibition Closes
Saturday, January 23, 2027 

Retrieval of Work
Monday, January 25, 2027 10am-5pm - Vidinghoff Gallery 

Communications
The artist contact email provided on the online application must remain active during the submission and exhibition process. The artist is responsible for checking email.

Installation
All work MUST be delivered installation ready. 

Work should be framed. Framed work MUST arrive ready to hang. D-Rings for hanging are requested for all work. The only the exceptions to framing are made for deep/gallery wrapped canvases with finished sides (ready to hang) and fiber works designed with sleeves and dowels or slats (ready to hang). The minimum size limit for work is 24" in each directions.  There is no maximum size limit for work in Attraction to Abstraction 2026. 

If artwork installation is overly complex, Wayne Art Center will contact the artist to request assistance with the installation process. An artist may be required to assume financial responsibility for any alternations (painted walls, site-specific pedestals, armatures, lighting, electrical, etc.) that are requested or required by a particular installation. The artist is welcome to install their complex artworks if necessary. Installation requests must be requested in advance and approved by Wayne Art Center. 

Sales Policy
Work must be For Sale.  Wayne Art Center highly encourages the sale of work.  The price identified on the entry application must remain constant throughout the duration of the exhibition. Wayne Art Center processes all sales and will retain 40% commission of the sale price, or for any sale that results from mediation by Wayne Art Center staff.  Sales are processed within 45 days of the close of the exhibition pending receipt of the required W-9 form. Wayne Art Center will process any resulting commissions of work that occur as a result of this exhibition at the same rate of 60/40 Artist/WAC. 

All work must remain on view through Saturday, January 23, 2027. Unsold work is to be picked-up on Monday, January 25, 2027 between 10am-5pm in the Vidinghoff Gallery.

Insurance and Liability
While all precautions will be taken to ensure the protection of selected work upon receipt, Wayne Art Center cannot assume liability for any loss or damage to artwork in transit. Wayne Art Center provides insurance coverage only while work is on our premises. All work will be insured for 60% of its retail value.

Submission of work to this exhibition constitutes an agreement on the part of the artist to all terms and conditions of this entire prospectus, which includes, but is not limited to, the right of Wayne Art Center to use entries images for publicity purposes. Wayne Art Center will not insure works not claimed by Friday, February 5, 2027. Work not retrieved by Monday, February 22, 2027 will become the property of Wayne Art Center.

Contact Information
Pam McLean-Parker, Exhibition Coordinator, pam@wayneart.org

Wayne Art Center
413 Maplewood Avenue
Wayne, PA 19087
610.688.3553 x211
wayneart.org

Questions
For questions regarding prospectus and exhibition, please contact Pam McLean-Parker, Exhibition Coordinator at pam@wayneart.org or 610-688-3553, ext. 211. For online submission support, please direct your inquiries to cafe@westaf.org.

Online applications are accepted through the CaFE platform and must be completed and submitted with payment by midnight MDT, October 21, 2026.  

Be sure to have upload-ready JPG files:

File Format: JPG files.

All images should be at least 300 dpi resolution.   

File dimensions: 1200 pixels or greater on the longest side.

File size: under 5 MB

Please name each jpg file with the title of the work.

Open to WAC students, WAC members and regional artists 18 years of age and older.

HAND DELIVERY ONLY.  No exceptions.  Hand Pick-Up as well.  No works will be shipped.

Eligible media include Painting, Works on Paper, Photography, Mixed Media and Fiber Works. 

Works submitted must have been completed since January 2024 and not previously exhibited at Wayne Art Center.  

All work must be for sale.

Wayne Art Center reserves the right to reject entries that do not meet the requirements.  

Artwork must remain on display throughout the duration of the exhibition.

Wayne Art Center reserves the right to use digital images of artwork from Attraction to Abstraction 2026 for exhibition promotional use.