Naturalist Gallery Absurd Exhibition

Naturalist Gallery of Contemporary Art is conducting a curatorial review for the Absurd Exhibition. Selected works will be presented online as part of a structured exhibition program examining contradiction, irrationality, dislocation, and the instability of meaning within contemporary artistic practice. Accepted works will be listed for sale within the exhibition for a minimum duration of sixty (60) days.

OPEN CALL FOR EXHIBITION: Naturalist Gallery Absurd Exhibition.

“The absurd is born of this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world.” – Albert Camus

Absurdity has occupied a recurring position within modern and contemporary art as artists confront systems that appear irrational, contradictory, arbitrary, or fundamentally unresolved. The absurd may emerge where conventional logic fails, familiar relationships become unstable, or ordinary objects and experiences are reorganized in ways that resist straightforward interpretation.

The Absurd Exhibition at Naturalist Gallery of Contemporary Art examines how contemporary artists engage absurdity as a conceptual, formal, psychological, or cultural condition. Works may employ humor, contradiction, impossible situations, irrational juxtaposition, repetition, displacement, symbolic instability, or existential tension.

Submissions are reviewed with attention to conceptual coherence, formal decision-making, and contextual relevance. Evaluation considers how absurdity is deliberately structured or articulated within the work rather than relying solely on randomness, novelty, or shock.

This call is open internationally to artists working in all visual media, excluding video.

Exhibition Inclusion

Artists whose works are selected through curatorial review will be included in the Absurd Exhibition. Exhibition inclusion constitutes the primary curatorial outcome of this call.

Selected works will:

• be documented and archived as part of the Absurd Exhibition

• be presented within the exhibition’s public presentation for a minimum of sixty (60) days

• be made available for sale under Naturalist Gallery’s net pricing model

Optional Institutional Placements
In addition to exhibition inclusion, selected artists may be considered for optional institutional placements within Naturalist Gallery’s broader curatorial framework. These placements are discretionary and not guaranteed.

Available placements may include:
Featured Collection Placement – Selected works may be presented within the NGCA Featured Collection on the gallery’s homepage for a limited duration. Additional fee applies.
New Arrivals Curated Placement – Selected works may be included in the New Arrivals collection documenting recently reviewed artists. Additional fee applies.
Institutional Publication Inclusion – Selected artists may be considered for inclusion in a formally authored editorial publication. Additional fee applies.

Review Process
All submissions are reviewed by a panel consisting of members of Naturalist Gallery’s curatorial team. All submissions are reviewed; not all are advanced to public presentation.

Application Fee
Artists submitting work for review are required to pay a one-time application fee of $30.

TIMELINE:
Application Opens: 10/5/26

Application Deadline: 10/12/26

Jury Dates: 10/5/26 – 10/13/26

Exhibition Dates: 10/13/26 – 12/12/26

[Minimum of 1 Artwork]

[Maximum of 20 Artworks]

Submissions are open internationally to established and emerging artists aged 18 years or older.

All visual art media are eligible, excluding video.