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Vertical Gallery, Chicago’s premier urban-contemporary art gallery, is very proud to present ‘Prickly portraits of a fragmented world,’ the long-awaited return of Colombia-based street artist Stinkfish.

‘Prickly portraits of a fragmented world,’ on display June 6–28, captures glimmers of hope in the faces of a human population on the brink, enriching the immediacy and visceral impact of Stinkfish’s signature spray-painted stencils via bolder color fields and intricate freehand detailing. This urgent new exhibition arrives 11 years after Stinkfish’s first Vertical solo showcase ‘Savage Gaze,’ followed in 2019 by ‘The short distance between lands. The long distance between ports;’ the artist will be in attendance for Friday, June 6’s opening-night reception, taking place from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

‘Prickly portraits of a fragmented world’ brings Stinkfish back to an America ruled by chaos. The portraits in question commemorate the resolve and resilience essential to our species’ continued survival, nesting each anonymous subject within a fantastical outer shell: armor-like spikes reminiscent of porcupine quills and hedgehog spines.

“We’re living in a complex time, marked by the resurgence of xenophobia, hardened borders, war, death, destruction. Many governments are shifting to the extreme right, and in the midst of it all, we’re trying to figure out how humanity can go on,” Stinkfish says. “The spines in my portraits evoke self-defense, like in plants — beautiful yet fragile. The people I portray also reflect this fragility, but through the power of their gaze, a different future can be glimpsed — perhaps one without barbed-wire borders, a world to walk through freely, just like these spiny portraits do.”

Stinkfish snapped the photographs sourced for each ‘Prickly portraits’ stencil in the course of his travels across Colombia, Honduras, Austria and the Caribbean island of Nevis. “In my work, inspiration always begins by moving — walking — as a way to understand this world, both beautiful and horrible at once,” Stinkfish says. “Walking allows me to encounter people through whom I can understand, firsthand, what life is really about, far from the illusion of social media and hegemonic mass media. Uplifting these everyday people I meet along the way, in all kinds of places, is the aim of my work. For this exhibition in particular, I wanted to portray some of the most meaningful encounters from the past few years.”  

Stinkfish urges viewers of ‘Prickly portraits of a fragmented world’ to focus on the moment, not the message. 

“I don’t expect viewers to take away a specific message,” he explains. “I’m more interested in the connections they might make, the questions they might ask, the thoughts that arise. When a message is too fixed, the exchange is lost. Just like in the street, I hope these exhibition pieces create surprise and curiosity.”  

Stinkfish (birth name classified) was born in Mexico City but raised in Bogotá, Colombia’s capital and largest city. The self-taught artist adopted the alias “Stink” at age 15 to tag the walls and tables of his high school, adding the “-fish” suffix prior to launching his stencil graffiti career in 2003. Stinkfish gained international recognition for his colorful, often colossal murals before showing his work in galleries: outside of Vertical, he has exhibited in London, Paris and Berlin. 

VIEW THE EXHIBITION HERE

Vertical Gallery is very proud to present ‘Right Back at It Again,’ a solo showcase for painter and printmaker Steve Seeley. 

‘Right Back at It Again,’ on display May 2-31, unpacks the art of making art, drawing on the slapstick surrealism of classic cartoons to affectionately lampoon the day-after-day struggles and sacrifices of a creative life. Vertical toasts the exhibition’s launch with an opening reception Friday, May 2 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. 

‘Right Back at It Again’ follows just six months after Vertical presented Seeley’s collection ‘They Cometh!’ at Aqua Art Miami 2024 — a quintessential example of the productivity and pace demanded of working artists. Its 27 acrylic paintings depict the beginningless and endless cycle of artistic life, death and rebirth via the hyper-exaggerated visual grammar of Looney Tunes-style mayhem: i.e., heads spontaneously combusting, anvils falling from the sky and all the other stuff that Wile E. Coyote’s nightmares are made of. 

“Art is a grind. There are no breaks. I don’t mean that to sound negative. But you have to psych yourself up every day. You fall down or stumble, and you bounce back up and go right back to it,” Seeley says. “That was part of the impetus for the title ‘Right Back at It Again,’ but I’m addressing the subject in cartoon jest. Cartoon characters are indestructible. They can't die. You blow them up, and they reinflate. You can’t escape the dark humor aspect, but there's a light there somewhere.” 

While ‘They Cometh!’ paid homage to Seeley’s lifelong idol Jack Kirby, the promethean comic book artist responsible for co-creating Marvel Universe icons like Captain America, the Fantastic Four and the Black Panther, ‘Right Back at It Again’ mostly eschews established pop culture properties in favor of a tabula rasa approach. 

“It was a nonlinear process this time around. The first piece I did led to the next piece, and that piece led to the piece after that. I didn't give myself any walls or confines, and I didn't care where I went with it as long as it referenced the piece prior to it,” Seeley explains. “It was really important to me to keep everything optimistic, even though it’s a show about people getting their asses kicked. I just don’t know a better way to depict [the creative process] than to show someone getting knocked down or squashed.” 

‘Right Back at It Again’ also blows up and reassembles Seeley’s color palette. 

“Color is my favorite part of making art,” he says. “A lot of times in the past, I've mixed 20 or 30 different colors for a show. That's the base. Sometimes I allow myself to use different colors if I need to. I did less of that in this show. One way for me to jump from one piece to the next was to pick a prominent color — a very prominent blue, for example — and then continue that color into the next piece. Also, there is not one ounce of black paint in this entire show. I don't use black. All my line work is what I call ‘suede.’ It’s a brown-ish, violet color. I always like the drab, desaturated colors.”

Seeley is a mainstay of Chicago’s contemporary art community. The Wisconsin native came to the city in 2004 after earning a Master of Fine Arts in printmaking from the Ohio State University, appearing in group shows across the Midwest before headlining his earliest solo exhibitions in partnership with Chicago’s Packer Schopf Gallery. Seeley — a former partner in Windy City printmaking specialists POP!NK Editions — first exhibited at Vertical in 2013 as part of the gallery’s very first holiday group show, ‘Deck the Halls,’ and returned in 2015 for ‘Heroes & Villains.’ He has remained a Vertical fixture in the years since, co-headlining 2023’s duo show ‘Love Notes’ opposite Blake Jones.

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Vertical Gallery, Flog rejoin forces for NYC solo showcase ‘Hand in Hand’ 

Vertical Gallery, Chicago’s premier urban-contemporary art gallery, is very proud to present ‘Hand in Hand,’ French painter Flog’s debut New York City solo exhibition. 

‘Hand in Hand,’ on display May 8–24 at 2 Rivington Street on New York’s Lower East Side, spotlights Flog’s signature Human of Glass character, within whose transparent, genderless body the colors and complexities of life swirl and splash. Vertical toasts Flog’s Big Apple premiere with an opening-night reception on Thursday, May 8 from 5:00 to 8:00 pm. 

‘Hand in Hand’ follows close to 18 months after Flog’s first-ever U.S. solo showcase, the sold-out ‘Rewind,’ presented by Vertical at SCOPE Miami Beach 2023. While ‘Rewind’ drew visual and thematic inspiration from formative events in Flog’s adolescence, ‘Hand in Hand’ occupies our present moment, focusing squarely on the Human of Glass and the character’s interactions with a pair of giant-sized, color-filled glass hands. 

“‘Hand in Hand’ explores the contrast between the hands and the character, and their difference in size emphasizes the difference between power and weakness — who has the power, and who doesn't,” says Flog, born Florian Gaborit. “There's also a focus on how hands link people. There’s holding hands, of course, as well as how we communicate with our hands. You can send a reassuring message. You can display the peace symbol. You can also give someone the middle finger. Hands are such a powerful symbol and storytelling tool. They convey so many emotions, both positive and negative.” 

Subtle, gradient colors dominate ‘Hand in Hand’ — a sharp turn from the dayglo tints and tones of ‘Rewind.’ “It’s a whole new color palette. There’s not just one flat green or one flat blue, and there’s much more work with the spray can,” Flog says. “I’m always in search of new colors, and I love to experiment. I’m sure the show after this one will have a different color palette, too.” 

New York City has its fingerprints all over ‘Hand in Hand’ as well. “Never would I have imagined that something like this exhibition with Vertical Gallery would happen. I’m a bit speechless about this incredible opportunity,” Flog says. “New York is one of the biggest cities in the world, and these concepts of gigantism and reducing the scale of my character come directly from wondering if I will feel like an ant in that environment. But I’m confident I’m showing the New York audience something new — something very different than everything I’ve done before.” 

Flog studied graphic design at Nantes’ École Pivaut before pursuing a career as a painter. His deft, dazzling blend of aerosol spray, acrylics and oils gained international attention following the 2020 introduction of the Human of Glass series, and two years later he made his Vertical debut via the gallery’s nine-year anniversary group show, inaugurating a collaboration that continues to deepen with each passing year. Flog has also exhibited his work in Paris, Rome and Taipei, among other international destinations. 

FLOG 'Hand in Hand'
May 8-24, 2025
Opening reception with the artist: Thurs May 8, 5:00-8:00pm
Vertical Gallery Pop-Up Space: 2 Rivington St., Lower East Side, NYC
Email us for additional details

Jonlouis Gonzalez needed to come back down to earth. 

The Miami-based multimedia artist built his reputation by embracing the interstellar spirit and symbols of Florida’s Space Coast region, creating paintings, sculptures and installations exploring the terrain between reality and imagination. But as the new year dawned, Jonlouis was feeling lost in orbit. 

“I live in a high-rise with 145 units, and I felt very disconnected from nature. I wanted to live on the land, and see what it feels like to walk on dirt floors,” Jonlouis tells Vertical Gallery. “[My partner] Yezenia and I were applying to a whole bunch of residency opportunities, and for whatever reason, we weren't getting the results that we wanted. So we decided to create our own residency in Mexico, where Yezenia’s family is from. We brought all our tools and our supplies, and we built a studio in the middle of nowhere.”

The couple spent close to three months on a ranch in Aguascalientes, a small rural community located in the northern part of Mexico’s Bajío region, working odd jobs while absorbing the customs and rituals of their new environment. The sojourn inspired Jonlouis’ ‘Lay of the Land,’ a collection of vividly impressionistic oil and acrylic paintings on view at Vertical from April 4-26 as part of our 12-Year Anniversary International Group Show.

‘Lay of the Land’ rockets Jonlouis’ signature astronaut adventurers into the heart of his Aguascalientes experience, bringing his characters into contact with the cattle and cacti essential to everyday life there.

“The family we lived with farmed cactus, which is a traditional meal for breakfast. Their neighbor farms eggs, another neighbor makes leather goods, and still another neighbor herds cattle. The same day the cattle is slaughtered, the community consumes it,” Jonlouis recalls. “The whole neighborhood is an ecosystem. It produces everything needed for sustainable living. That had a big impact on me. I was writing everything down in my notebook, like ‘Wow, this is so different compared to where I'm from.’”

Aguascalientes also introduced Jonlouis to amate, a type of thick, textured paper manufactured from the pulp of fig and mulberry trees. He purchased 20 sheets of amate paper from a local vendor, four of which form the basis for the paintings that make up ‘Lay of the Land.’

“I was searching for a medium that was deeply connected to this region,” Jonlouis explains. “At first, I considered using local clay or adobe, but then I came across amate. Understanding the history and significance of my materials is important to me, and amate carries a powerful story. Indigenous Mesoamerican groups have been making it for nearly 2,000 years, using it to record history, rituals and important events. However, during the Spanish conquest, its production was banned to suppress indigenous record-keeping and erase cultural memory. When I discovered a local artist creating scenes of cockfighting, cattle herding and traditional weddings on amate, I knew this was the right medium for ‘Lay of the Land.’ It wasn’t just about aesthetics — it was about honoring the land, its history and the people who preserved its traditions.”  

Needless to say, Jonlouis returned to Miami with the grounded perspective he craved. 

“This experience redefined my understanding of craftsmanship,” Jonlouis says. “The people there create, build and eat only what is within arm’s reach. Their resources are limited, but their creativity is limitless. It made me realize that having every option available doesn’t necessarily make you more creative — it can actually lead to paralysis. True craftsmanship is about working with what you have, and pushing those materials to their fullest potential.”

View Jonlouis Gonzalez artwork here

CABNOV (IG: @cab_nov) is one of seven emerging artists making their Vertical Gallery debut at our 12-Year Anniversary international group show, opening Friday, April 4. The latest installment in our Artist Spotlight series reveals all.

Vertical Gallery: Please introduce yourself to our audience.

CABNOV: I am a self-taught, multidisciplinary artist. My artistic journey began with music, which I transformed into mural paintings in New Zealand. After debuting my work there, I made the transition to the gallery scene in 2020, where I began painting on canvas. Over the past four years, I have established myself as a full-time professional artist. 

My art reflects the belief that life is a tapestry woven from unexpected moments, creating a world that transcends the physical realm. Influenced by emotions and the energy around me, I embrace an open-minded and humorous perspective, resonating with the intricate layers of human existence. One of my earliest inspirations is the first edition of the Where's Waldo? books — a cherished childhood collection that continues to fuel my creative vision.

Notable achievements in my career include being featured in art fairs in Korea and the Philippines, as well as presenting at ComplexCon in Las Vegas as part of KnownGallery’s roster of artists.

What does the CABNOV alias represent?

The CABNOV name is deeply significant to me. It combines the first three letters of my partner’s surname, CAB, with my own, NOV. She is my greatest supporter, pushing me to delve deeper into my art and standing by my side from the very beginning. This name beautifully encapsulates our connection as two individuals becoming one.

Tell us about the work you’re exhibiting at Vertical’s 12-Year Anniversary show. 

This body of work centers on self-discovery, relationship building, and fully appreciating the energy and presence of those we surround ourselves with. It underscores the importance of valuing the connections that shape us and the moments that define our journeys.

What does it mean to present your work in front of a Chicago gallery audience, and what practical advice can you offer artists seeking to follow in your footsteps?

This is a pivotal moment for me. Breaking into the U.S. art scene is a dream realized, and this show marks a significant advance in my career. I am excited to share my work and unique artistic style with a new audience.

I have long admired your gallery, especially after seeing one of my favorite artists, Alex Face, exhibit here. This inspired me to take a bold step and submit my work, and I am truly grateful for the opportunity to showcase my art with you. 

To my fellow artists, my advice is this: stay true to your vision and believe in your work, even if 99 percent of people don’t. Remember, it’s crucial to take the time to rest — creativity needs space to breathe.

What’s next for you beyond this group show?

I’m thrilled to announce an upcoming show at a museum in China. My long-term goals are ambitious, including a solo exhibition in New York and creating a public sculpture that stands 20 to 50 feet tall.  

CABNOV's work for our 12-Year Anniversary Show has sold out. Contact us to be added to the list for future works from her.