News

Krause Gallery & Vertical Gallery Announce ROA "In Limbo" in New York City

Krause Gallery, New York City, in conjunction with Vertical Gallery, Chicago, is thrilled to announce renowned graffiti and street artist ROA’s first New York City show in over a decade. With only one show a year, and a commitment to his craft with a no-print, no-edition code, don’t miss the rare opportunity to view ROA’s new works. The show will feature a dozen original pieces hand-painted on metal or wood; created in homage to both creature and habitat. A limited number of signed books will also be available at the gallery and online. Show opens Thursday, October 20 at Krause Gallery. Artist Reception 5-8pm.

Background

ROA, originally from Ghent Belgium, is one of the early pioneers in a now vibrant urban art scene in Belgium. He has created works on the streets of cities across Europe, the United States, Australia, Asia, New Zealand and Africa. He is known for painting large scale murals of wild or urban animals and birds using a minimal color palette. Many depict the inner workings of the creatures, detailing bones, and organs with technical perfection, while offering mutual respect both to the creatures, and their spaces and surroundings. ROA uses his artistry to create community and conversation by touching upon such universal themes as life and death, beauty and decay.

Contact benjamin@krausegallery.com for the collector's preview

General Information

Krause Gallery
149 Orchard Street.
New York, NY 10002
212-777-7799
benjamin@krausegallery.com

Hours
Wednesday – Saturday 12am to 6pm or by appointment

Vertical Gallery is very proud to present ‘Atomic Number 13 part 2,’ a group show featuring new work from a local, national, and international roster of artists, curated by Chicago-based art services and custom framing company ArtBuilds. After the incredible success of 'Atomic Number 13' in December 2021, Vertical and ArtBuilds immediately decided to partner again for part 2.

‘Atomic Number 13 part 2,’ which runs from Nov. 5 - 19 at Vertical’s 1016 N. Western Ave. location, brings together over 80 artists in all, each working on an 11x14 aluminum composite panel handcrafted by ArtBuilds. The company’s founder, artist Joseph Renda Jr. — the subject of the summer 2021 Vertical Gallery solo show ‘Larger Than Life’ — also handpicked each artist included in the exhibit, some of whom (including Renda) will be in attendance at the gallery on Saturday, Nov. 5 in celebration of the show’s opening (noon-6pm). 

The title ‘Atomic Number 13” honors aluminum’s spot on the periodic table of elements. Renda began painting on aluminum composite panels five years ago, inspired by his mentor Anthony Adcock, an instructor at the American Academy of Art. “Once I realized I could make these panels whatever size I wanted, or build them in different shapes, I was hooked, and I stopped painting on canvas and wood,” Renda says. “These panels are the smoothest, most archival surface you can paint on, and unlike other surfaces, they don’t absorb moisture, so they’re not going to warp over time.”

Renda launched ArtBuilds in 2018 to provide much-needed framing and construction services to his peers in the artist community. “I make everything by hand, all from natural wood — not just frames, but also custom canvases, shipping crates and pedestals. Artists make up 90 percent of my clientele, and the other 10 percent are galleries and collectors.” ArtBuilds has been working with Vertical since before Renda officially founded the company: when the gallery needed assistance with multiple projects, Renda offered his support, and the partnership continues to this day.

“Beyond showing the versatility of the aluminum panels, I wanted to show the diversity of art out there,” he explains. “With so many artists working in so many different styles, everyone who attends this show is going to discover something that they love.”

The artists featured in Atomic Number 13 part 2 include:

Aaron Robert Baker, Adam Augustyn, Ador, Agnes Cecile, AJ Ainscough, Aldair Dosmil, Alejandro Botubol Bolaños, Alex Face, Allie Kushnir, Ana Fuentes, Bird Milk, Blake Jones, Codak Smith, Collin van der Sluijs, Chris Uphues, Christy Grossmann, Cristi López, David Heo, Delisha, Diosa, Diego Peñuela, Elloo, Emma McKee, Ezra Brown, Fintan Magee, FACE, Fedz, Flog, GoopMassta, Goosenek, Grant William Thye, Hama Woods, Jamiah Calvin, James Eastwood, James Lipnickas, James Sturnfield, JC Rivera, Jennifer Cronin, Jenny Frison, Jordan Ferguson, Joseph Renda Jr., Jesse Hora, Jesse Navarrete, JUURI, Karl Jahnke, Kathie Olivas, Katie Lukes, Kyle Cobban, Loc Hong, Laura Catherwood, Lie, Martin Whatson, Mary Fedorowski, Matt Zuska, Mau Mau, Melissa Villarreal, Miller James, Micah Ofstedahl, Michelle Avery, Konczyk, Morgan Frew, My Dog Sighs, Oscar Joyo, Paul Neberra, Penny Pinch, Pipsqueak Was Here!!!, Pizza in the Rain, Poka, Racheal Scotland, Ramiro Silva-Cortes, Ruben Aguirre, ROIZ, Samantha DeCarlo, Sarah Jamison, Savannah Magnolia, Sergio Farfán, Seth Clark, Shawnimals, Sid Ylagan, Steve Seeley, Thomas Turner, Troy Scat, Underseagravy, Valeria Terrazas, Van Dam One, Vivian Le, Yon, YunGFlop, Zach Schrey, ZorZorZor

'Atomic Number 13 part 2', curated by ArtBuilds
November 5-19, 2022
Opening day: Sat Nov 5, noon-6pm
Vertical Gallery, 1016 N Western Ave., Chicago

Vertical Gallery is very proud to present ‘Textura,’ a solo exhibit featuring multidisciplinary artist and illustrator lefty OUT there.

VIEW THE EXHIBITION HERE

‘Textura,’ which runs from Oct. 1-22 at Vertical’s 1016 N. Western Ave. location, exists at the intersection of art and science, spotlighting lefty OUT there’s signature repeated shapes — a.k.a. “polymorphs,” a term for compressed patterns commonly found in nature — in a wildly diverse range of styles and settings. lefty OUT there will attend the show’s opening reception, taking place Saturday, Oct. 1 from noon to 6:00 pm.

‘Textura’ — lefty OUT there’s first-ever solo gallery showcase in his native Chicago — extends and evolves the artist’s career-long obsession with patterns and textures. The trademark ‘lines’ that recur across his paintings and murals, often likened to cell structures and vibrations, achieve new heights of creativity and craftsmanship in this body of work.

lefty OUT there estimates he has drawn well over a million polymorphs over the course of his career, with no end in sight. “How I draw the pattern is always different as I'm painting the piece,” the artist explains. “There are multiple nuances per line. I'm making sure that I’m keeping it balanced, keeping the spacing the same, keeping the line width the same, and that it's all building off of itself. It’s a process of constant problem solving.”

With ‘Textura,’ a collection several years in the making, lefty OUT there turns his focus to what he calls “wall sculptures” — i.e., three-dimensional, tactile objects boasting uncommon presence and depth.   

“This show embraces the beauty of materials like yarn, fabric, Plexiglas, and wood. One piece might be soft and plush, while another might be hard and concrete,” lefty OUT there says. “Also, the show is interactive. People are going to be able to touch tufted rug pieces and crocheted pieces. They're even going to be able to touch the piece with nails driven into it. It's a much different experience than just looking at something on a wall. It’s going to be intense for some people, but I like intensity — it’s the overarching word in my career.”

lefty OUT there channeled his creativity into playing piano before turning to visual art at the age of 18, taking inspiration from Chicago’s vibrant street art community. The self-taught, left-handed painter spent years crisscrossing the globe in a relentless quest to refine his pattern-dominated aesthetic, eventually making his mark in cities like New York, Miami and London as well as Los Angeles, which he now calls home. lefty OUT there’s portfolio also includes large-scale installations for locations like Nobu, club E11EVEN, Chotto Matte and Chicago’s Ambassador Hotel along with collaborations with brands including Nike, Facebook, Samsung and McDonald’s.

lefty OUT there
‘Textura’
October 1 – 22, 2022
Opening reception: Sat Oct 1, noon – 6pm
Vertical Gallery, 1016 N Western Ave

Email us at sales@verticalgallery.com for the digital collector's preview

Stella Gallerie is very proud to present ‘Anxiety Est. 03,’ a collection of new paintings by Chicago-based multimedia artist Sergio Farfán.

‘Anxiety Est. 03’ (which occupies both Stella Gallerie in Miami and Public Studio in Tampa, and is presented in partnership with Chicago’s Vertical Gallery) features close to three dozen new canvases grappling with the seminal moment in Farfán’s life to date: his family’s abrupt relocation from their native Peru to the United States — a tectonic shift that set in motion his childhood anxiety, but also directly inspired his career as an artist. Farfán will be in attendance when ‘Anxiety Est. 03’ opens at Stella Gallerie on Thursday, Sept. 22, and will travel to Tampa for the Public Studio opening on Saturday, Sept. 24.

‘Anxiety Est. 03’ explores childhood trauma through the lens of Farfán’s signature cartoon-cubism approach, poignantly yet playfully bringing to life the emotions and experiences that reshaped his adolescence upon arriving in America in 2003. Farfán’s parents did not inform him about the family’s relocation plans: in fact, the animation-obsessed seven-year-old boarded their plane believing he was en route to a Disney World vacation. While the aircraft briefly touched down in Miami, the Farfáns continued on to Chicago, where Sergio struggled to adjust both to his new surroundings and to the absence of his extended Peruvian family — a struggle that manifested as crippling anxiety.

“I remember being in Peru and not having any anxiety. I was a normal, happy kid,” Farfán says. “But flying from Peru to Florida and then from Florida to Chicago, my heart started racing and I was nauseous. I was shaking and sweating. It was not until my freshman year in high school that I was diagnosed with anxiety, and that led me to art therapy. Ever since then, I’ve been trying to deal with my anxiety and using art as a form of meditation.”

Farfán credits art therapy — a technique that utilizes creative expression as a means to address a patient’s negative thoughts, emotions and behaviors — for giving him the tools necessary to bring a project like ‘Anxiety Est. 03’ to fruition.

“Art therapy didn’t just teach me how to draw, but also to draw whatever I felt, and to put meaning into it,” he explains. “‘Anxiety Est. 03’ processes what I felt coming from Peru to the U.S. — what anxiety did to me, and how I dealt with it. Each painting tells stories about coming to America: what immigrants experience to come here, and what life is like when we get here.” 

‘Anxiety Est. 03’ represents the culmination of a long and winding creative process. Farfán originally conceived the series in 2017, one of four ongoing collections of paintings he launched that year; in preparation for this exhibit, he completed and reimagined works in progress since five years earlier, concurrently continuing the ‘Anxiety Est. 03’ series with brand-new pieces that delve deeper into his core thematic concerns and demonstrate his evolving mastery of color. For example, both “Color Esperanza” (on display in Tampa) and the ‘Anxiety Est. 03’ title painting (exhibiting in Miami) confront anxiety’s chokehold on Farfán’s psyche, but while the former is serene and contemplative, the latter delivers Picasso-inspired anarchy, complete with appearances by animation icons Tom and Jerry.

“Back in 2017, I was in a very bad mindset. I was sharing very personal stuff in my paintings, and It now feels very immature. So I went back and painted over everything I don’t want people to know, because it’s all behind me now,” Farfán says. “It felt like I was collaborating with my younger self. In fact, it almost feels like we’re two different people, because we all change every day. But I still really like the paintings from back then, because they show a lot of character.”

Vertical Gallery first displayed Farfán’s work in a 2016 holiday-themed pop-up exhibit, and included several of his canvases in its 2019 and 2020 anniversary shows. In late 2020, Vertical presented ‘Looking for Dreams in a Kan of Soup,’ a solo pop-up that explored the artist’s debt to his boyhood hero Andy Warhol while simultaneously embracing a more abstract approach that escaped Warhol’s shadow altogether — an approach that informed the dazzlingly colorful, mind-bending work presented in Farfán’s first full-fledged solo exhibit, 2021’s ‘Five Years.’

Contact victor@stellagallerie.com for sales inquiries.

Vertical Gallery is pleased to release "Binky Inna Bottle", the new print from Bianca Pastel. This new print will be released online Wednesday, September 14 at noon central time.

PURCHASE HERE

“This piece is very personal to me, it is the exploration of caring for my inner child through self-expression. Throughout my life I’ve had trouble expressing myself and communicating my emotions in a way that is effective. Oftentimes I end up feeling misunderstood, invisible or trapped inside a glass bottle of my emotions. It feels as though people can see me but they can’t hear me."

"I think children feel just as deeply as adults but don't have the verbal communication to express it. I use Binky as a muse to express myself and what I’m feeling as a way to heal my inner child and also connect with youth who may share similar struggles. A lot of us grew up in spaces where it wasn't ok to be sad or to just be and now our emotions are bottled up in unhealthy ways. Through this piece I want to communicate that you are seen and heard.” – Bianca Pastel

Bianca Pastel is a Chicago-based artist who envisioned a career in art since the age of 5. Her biggest influences behind her work derive from 90's movies/cartoons, Art Deco, photography, and music. Bianca studied art and design at Columbia College and her experience ranges from doing album covers and children’s book illustration, to animation and graphic design. Her goal with her work is not only to have fun, but also to remind people of childhood memories and provide her audience a feeling of nostalgia.

PURCHASE HERE

Bianca Pastel
Binky Inna Bottle, 2022
19-color screenprint on Mohawk Superfine UltraWhite 160lb cover
20 x 26 in., 50.8 x 66 cm
Edition of 30, signed & numbered by the artist
Printed by POP!NK Editions
$350

Bianca Pastel
Binky Inna Bottle, 2022
19-color screenprint on Mohawk Superfine UltraWhite 160lb cover
20 x 26 in., 50.8 x 66 cm
Artist’s Proof Edition of 5, signed & marked A/P by the artist
Printed by POP!NK Editions
$450

Bianca Pastel
Binky Inna Bottle, 2022
Hand-Embellished 19-color screenprint on Mohawk Superfine UltraWhite 160lb cover
20 x 26 in., 50.8 x 66 cm
Five unique 1/1 Hand-Embellished Printed, signed by the artist
Printed by POP!NK Editions
$1,000