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Vertical Gallery's one-year anniversary show, PAPER JAM, is curated by artist Ben Frost. Listen to Ben talk about the exhibition and discuss a few of the artists. All 17 artists will be featured over three videos. In this video: Dale Keogh, Mysterious Al, Taylor White, Ben Frost, Denial, and Denialex.

Taylor White (US)
Taylor White is an active producer of fine pictorial convention. With a background in illustration, her work can be found in print, in urban gallery spaces, on city streets, and in public and private collections. Taylor is currently based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Mysterious Al (UK)
Mysterious Al is a London based artist, illustrator and designer who creates iconic gothic / pop imagery. Initially drawing inspiration from illustration icons such as Jamie Hewlett, James Jarvis and Pete Fowler, as well as his graffiti and art-school peers, Mysterious Al's characters are monsters, mutants and subhumans... Creatures that inhabit a dark yet playful universe parallel to our own. In 2001, alongside friend and contemporary D*Face, Mysterious Al co-founded the now world-renowed 'Finders Keepers Crew'; a collective of young outsider artists using stickers, wheat-paste and found objects to create illegal street installations. The Finders Keepers crew gained international notoriety and found themselves at the forefront of a new art movement: 'Street-art'. Their widely attended yet illegal pop-up exhibitions formed an often replicated template for promoting the biggest art trend in a decade whilst the roster of artists associated with Finders Keepers went on to become some of the biggest names in this new movement.

Dale Keogh (AUS)
Dale Keogh creates colorful, slightly gruesome and twisted illustrations using color pencil on black backgrounds. With a deft eye for contrast and texture, his guy combines hyper-realism with surrealism like no other.

Denial (CANADA)
Daniel Bombardier is a Canadian graffiti and mixed-media artist. His moniker 'Denial', by definition, pokes fun at modern advertising, politics, and media messages that society is often “in denial” about. He is known for his prolific guerrilla-marketing campaign, which takes public aim at ideas involving social-justice, pop-culture, mass-media, and “New World Order” conspiracy theories.

Ben Frost (AUS)
Australian artist Ben Frost is known for his kaleidoscopic Pop Art, mash-up paintings that take inspiration from areas as diverse as graffiti, collage, photorealism and sign-writing. By subverting mainstream iconography from the worlds of advertising, entertainment and politics, he creates a visual framework that is bold, confronting and often controversial. He has been exhibiting throughout Australia and internationally over the last 12 years, including solo shows in London, New York, Toronto, Singapore and San Francisco, as well as group shows in Beijing, Mongolia, Amsterdam, and Berlin.

Vertical Gallery's one-year anniversary show, PAPER JAM, is curated by artist Ben Frost. Listen to Ben talk about the exhibition and discuss a few of the artists. All 17 artists will be featured over three videos. In this video: Chris Cunningham, Numskull, Hebru Brantley, James Jirat Patradoon, Sharktoof, and Copyright.

View all available artwork from PAPER JAM

Read about the featured artists in this video:

Chris Cunningham (IRELAND)
Chris Cunningham is a UK based artist working exclusively with spray-paint and contemporary stencil techniques. His work explores the ideas of contemporary pop culture and mass media as they affect and shape how we operate in our daily lives. References to pop culture, graffiti, skateboard graphics and comic book iconography feature heavily alongside the instantly recognizable logos and the symbols of our time, exploring the effect they have on our society. Often these symbols are subverted and reworked to convey a message or expose an underlying issue. His commentary of pop culture, bold graphics and strong use of colour is similar to that of Lichtenstein or Warhol but with a contemporary urban edge. The work he makes is exhibited internationally and can just as often be found painted on found objects as it can on linen and canvas.

Copyright (UK)
Over the last decade Copyright has been invited to show his work worldwide including sell out solo shows in London and Tokyo and most recently his Precious Damage show which saw him sell all 50 works in 3 hours. He was asked to design the cover of Reload Magazine to go alongside a feature about his art, as well as pieces in Harpers Bazaar, Teen Vogue and Modart amongst others. He was featured on Series 8 of the BBC show ‘The Apprentice’ in May 2012 after being selected by the contestants as part of a task based on street art. His highly stylised work and unique style has proven popular with both national and international collectors including a number of celebrities and Premier League footballers.

Sharktoof (USA)
Shark Toof ranks among street art's most recognizable artists. Known for his murals, stencils and wheat pastes on streets across the US from NY to Miami to LA, Shark Toof is one of the rising stars in contemporary street art. Shark Toof currently lives and works in Los Angeles. Solo and group shows in 2010 include Baker's Dozen, Fountain Art Fair, Miami; Dreams Deferred, Chinese American Museum of Los Angeles; Duality, CB Gallery, Los Angeles; Marxist Glue, Hold Up Art, Los Angeles; Small Gift Sanrio 50th Anniversary, Barker Hanger, Los Angeles; Sugi Pop, Portsmouth Museum of Art, New Hampshire; Unfaithful Forever, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery; Dead Letter Playground, Leo Kesting Gallery, New York; Viva Lost Wages, Joseph Watson Collection, Las Vegas; MAYDAY, Barracuda, Los Angeles and Crazy 4 Cult, Gallery 1988, Los Angeles. Shark Toof graduated from Pasadena Art Center College of Design with a BFA in Illustration.

James Jirat Patradoon (AUS)
James (born 1985) is an Australian Artist/Illustrator. He creates character driven visual art, born of fictional worlds of borrowed imagery that act as distorted mirrors to our reality, mashed-up and remixed to create new stories. Inspired by the fashion and costume of black metal music, gangster rap, professional wrestling, sci-fi films, and superheroes, James' work is an irreverent take on the stoic nature of macho pop culture.

Numskull (AUS)
Numskull is an Australian based artist, working out of Sydney in a variety of fields and mediums including painting, sculpture, illustration and large scale murals. Now showing constantly in galleries, his painting style has evolved from simple street work to complex, technical and reactive mixed media paintings and sculpture. His unique imagery has become a collage of study focusing on color hierarchy, typography, abstract heroism and idolism within modern contemporary culture.

Hebru Brantley (USA)
Hebru, a Bronzeville-native living and working in Chicago, explores personal and cultural memory in his art. Taking themes from his 1980’s upbringing, Brantley uses a creative process akin to free-form journaling, using a variety of surfaces and media including wood, spray paint, coffee and tea. His work delves into political and social issues with a conscious focus on playful insight and the optimism and possibilities of youth. Brantley draws influence from an array of pop culture icons, comic book heroes, Japanese anime and the bold aesthetics of street art pioneers Jean Michel Basquiat, Kaws and Keith Haring. Brantley’s recent focus is to share energetic narratives— moments of reality from his life and the lives of his peers, mixed with fantastical fiction— to create a fragmented environment of make believe. Spray paint is often at the forefront of these mixed-media illustrations, working in part to decontextualize the levity of cartoon imagery, and bring a critical edge into the white cube. From this, Brantley has developed his own unique style and identifies as an Afro-Futurist. Recognized nationally for public works and solo shows in Chicago, Hebru Brantley has exhibited in San Francisco, Atlanta, Miami, Seattle, Los Angeles and New York. He was most recently the winner of the Redbull Curates Chicago contest, and will exhibit at Scope art fair in December 2012. Brantley has been commissioned by Skyy Vodka, Nike and Tyra Banks. Film from Clark Atlanta University, and has a background in design and media illustration.

Ben Frost (AUS)
Australian artist Ben Frost is known for his kaleidoscopic Pop Art, mash-up paintings that take inspiration from areas as diverse as graffiti, collage, photorealism and sign-writing. By subverting mainstream iconography from the worlds of advertising, entertainment and politics, he creates a visual framework that is bold, confronting and often controversial. He has been exhibiting throughout Australia and internationally over the last 12 years, including solo shows in London, New York, Toronto, Singapore and San Francisco, as well as group shows in Beijing, Mongolia, Amsterdam, and Berlin.

As we approach our one-year anniversary on April 5^th, we would like to take a moment to thank everyone for their support this past year. Since we moved here from San Francisco a few weeks before our opening in March 2013, we haven’t had much of a chance to slow down to reflect on each show.

To each of the artists that has shown in our gallery, a very big thank you, we wouldn’t be here without you: Dont Fret, Left Handed Wave, Hebru Brantley, Tiptoe, Jourdon Gullett, Justin Markin, Dan Hojnacki, Laura English, Nice One, Clam Nation, Erik Lundquist, Uriel Correa, Courtney Simone De Montfort, Ryan Geiger, Vincent Grech, Chris Silva, Tom Buban, Alex Yanes, Jenny Robinson, Michael Rodriguez, Ben Frost, My Dog Sighs, C215, Joseph Martinez, Simon WG Butler, Kim Alsbrooks, Pixel Stud, Audrey Heller, Maria Krouglianskaia, John Fekner, Jef Aérosol , XOOOOX , Zeus, David Soukup, FAKE, Jeremy Novy, Rene Gagnon, F63, Epyon5, That Stencil Guy, AIKO, Dmitry Samarov, Ian Ferguson, Julie Murphy, Steve Seeley, Jimmy Bunnyluv, Anthony Freda, Dave Pressler, David Cooper, El Gato Chimney, Hernan Paganini, Klub7, Raudiel Sanudo, Ruel Pascual, Fernando Chamarelli, Never2501, Casey Gray, Niels ‘Shoe’ Meulman, Max Rippon (RIPO), Word to Mother, Mary Iverson, Ferris Plock, Chad Hasegawa, REKA, Skewville, Stormie Mills, Andrew Poneros, Justin Penov, Greg Gossel, Jim Houser, Cope 2 & Indie184, Philip Lumbang, Denial, Jason Bryant, Dave Pressler, Lucx, Mike Ruta, Steve Seeley, Forsaken, Sentrock, Adam DeVarney, Helena Ecija Martinez, JC Rivera, T-money, Marcelo Eli, Czr Prz, Robert Donis, E LEE, Jake Castro, Dusty Rabjohn, !CHONGO!, Nate Otto, Juan Chavez, Nicholaus Jamieson, Paul Stacey, Adam Lundquist, Nick Fury, Charlie Megna, yoki, Priya Shah, Saro, Courtney Howell, Revise, Yams, Ben Giska, Ali 6, Stevie Dread, and Peter Kepha, and Grant William Thye.

To all of our neighbors, friends, collectors, and press, we can’t thank you enough for your support.

As we enter Year 2, we are excited to bring you our one-year anniversary show PAPER JAM in partnership with Australian print-house StupidKrap and curated by artist Ben Frost; solo shows with Stinkfish, XENZ, Never2501, My Dog Sighs, Greg Gossel, Dhear One; a couple exciting group shows; and a few art fairs around the country.

We will be expanding our secondary market work on our website this year. If you’re looking for a piece from an artist or have work for sale, please contact us. We currently have work available from Shepard Fairey, Ben Eine, ROA, Faile, Dolk, Beejoir, Anthony Lister, Static, Mau Mau, Hush, Sickboy, RYCA, Word To Mother, FAKE, Zevs, Mighty Mo, Phil Lumbang, and more.

Sign up for our email below, or send us an email with your mailing address and we’ll send you show postcards. Thanks again.

Best wishes,
Patrick

Vertical Gallery is pleased to announce its participation in SCOPE New York, one of the top art fairs in the world, known for curating the most innovative contemporary art. Running March 6-9, 2014, SCOPE will present the highest level of gallery shows, collector tours and curated projects.

We will feature UK artist My Dog Sighs, Australian artist Stormie Mills, and New York artists Andrew Poneros, Justin Penov, and Tiptoe in booth E15. This will be the New York debut for My Dog Sighs and Stormie Mills. Both artists have huge international followings, and both will exhibit brand new work at the art fair.

My Dog Sighs has found himself strapped in to a well-deserved meteoric rise. With an incredible international following in Israel, Japan, and the UK, five sold out shows under his belt, and a strong following of staunchly loyal fans on social media; My Dog Sighs is fast becoming an important figure on the contemporary art scene.

Stormie Mills has an international following for his iconic character based work that has seen him travel, work and show in London, Tokyo, Athens, Miami, and throughout Australia in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. Working in a restricted palette of black representing dirt, white the attempt to remove dirt, grey a metaphor for the cityscape and silver for dreams, this palette is an expression of the sense of isolation inherent in his work. Stormie’s work investigates humanity in his pursuit to understand what drives our deepest desires and emotions.

SCOPE Art Show returns to landmark venue, Skylight at Moynihan Station, for its 14th New York edition. Located within the iconic New York City Post Office, SCOPE will transform the Postal Dock with its 30-foot vaulted glass ceiling into a dynamic exhibition of 60 international galleries, representing the best and brightest contemporary work from emerging and mid-career artists.

The fair opens on Thursday, March 6, 3-6, with an exclusive Platinum VIP Gala, continuing with a First View benefit for VIPs and Press on March 6 from 6-9pm, and will be open to the general public March 7-9.

Please contact Patrick for a show preview.

We have also introduced four new artists to our online gallery. PEZ, Scott Cooper, ALI 6, and T-Money. All work is available to view at the gallery as well. Here is a little more about each artist:

PEZ: PEZ is a Spanish graffiti artist. He started painting graffiti in 1999 in his hometown Barcelona. Specifically, he got into street art writing his signature, which soon took the shape of a fish. His works appear in the best-known street art books such as Street Logos, Art of Rebellion, and Street Art. His work also appears in documentaries such as: "Bomb It-The Movie", Muros Libres",” Free Walls" and "A Primer on Urban Painting". He has exhibited in Bogotá, Barcelona, Hamburg, Paris, London, NY, Portland, Miami and Los Angeles. Click here to view available work from PEZ.

Scott Cooper: Scott is a video artist, illustrator, and painter. Originally from San Francisco, he recently moved to Copenhagen. He has exhibited in California, Oregon and Hawaii. Scott was recently featured in Eight magazine. Click here to view available work from Scott.

ALI 6: Not much is known about this Chicago based street artist, but his work can be seen all around the city. Street Style Chi recently interviewed him, and Complex recently named him one of their favorite Chicago Street Artists. ALI 6 participated in our holiday skate deck show, and his 2-deck piece sold opening night. Click here to view available work from ALI 6.

T-Money: Another artist on Complex’s top 10 Chicago Street Artists, T-Money is a self-taught artist who works primarily with markers and draws inspiration for his cartoon doodles from all forms of art. Click here to view available work from T-Money.

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