News — Patrick Hull

Vertical Gallery is entering the next phase of its ongoing evolution: extending its exhibition programming directly to collectors all across the globe.

Beginning with this year's Aqua Art Miami, running December 3-7, Vertical will focus its sales and marketing efforts on art fairs, pop-up showcases and other destination events throughout the U.S. and abroad. In the first installment of our new web-exclusive interview series Five Questions with…, Vertical owner Patrick Hull reveals what’s next for the gallery, its artists and the collector community at large.

Question 1: What’s behind your decision to pivot Vertical’s business model?

Patrick Hull: I’ve always felt it was really important to be in front of people in different markets in order to grow the Vertical brand. We've been doing art fairs since day one, and in the past couple of years, we’ve done pop-ups in New York with Alex Face and Flog. We also did a pop-up in Indianapolis, and we showed 2CHOEY at the Urban Art Fair in Paris. 

We’re moving forward with this model, and our September group show ‘The Scenic Route’ was our last in our West Town Chicago location. In early December, we’re presenting 12 artists at Aqua Art Miami 2025, and we’re actively looking at different communities for future exhibitions. We’re still confirming our 2026 programming slate, but we return to Chicago in March to present our 13-Year Anniversary Show with our friends at Jackson Junge Gallery, and we’re bringing Collin van der Sluijs back to Chicago in July in partnership with Joy Machine Gallery. 

Question 2: Why is this the right time to leave your West Town space?

It’s about serving an evolving global collector community. De-emphasizing the role of a fixed physical location is what’s best for our artists and collectors, and for myself. I love what I'm doing — I've been doing this for 12 and a half years now — and I'm really excited about this change in direction.

Question 3: What does this new approach mean for collectors?

It’s a new world of bringing art directly to more people, and allowing them to discover things on their own. 

I feel it's very important to see art in person. You have to love what you see to own it. We’ve always had a great online presence — we take as many photos as we can, and try to make the digital experience as interactive as possible. But online photos never capture the art’s true essence. Now we can be in many different places at once. 

Question 4: What does it mean for artists?

It's gonna be great for artists. They're no longer showing in just one space, or in just one market. Wherever they’re based and wherever they want to show their work, we can partner with them to put together the right plan. There are so many opportunities to figure out what we can do together to grow both of our businesses. 

Question 5: What are you going to miss most about West Town?

I’ll miss our monthly exhibitions — especially the openings, and seeing so many familiar faces. 

Beyond that, it's hard to say what I'm gonna miss, because Vertical is not going away. We’re not leaving the Chicago art community. We're still going to be having shows in Chicago, so I'm going to see our local collectors and artists there. We’re just doing more shows in other places. I can't wait for people to see the work we’re presenting at Aqua.