RYCA "All My Heroes Are Dead"
Vertical Gallery, RYCA pay homage to hip-hop history with ‘All My Heroes Are Dead’
Vertical Gallery, Chicago’s premier urban-contemporary art gallery, is very proud to present ‘All My Heroes Are Dead,’ showcasing multidisciplinary pop artist RYCA.
‘All My Heroes Are Dead’— RYCA’s first solo outing at Vertical, following group show appearances and co-headlining efforts — pays homage to the American hip-hop masters who shaped the East London-based artist’s life, bringing together silkscreens and sculptures immortalizing fallen heroes Tupac Shakur, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Big Pun, MF Doom and the Notorious B.I.G. The exhibit runs November 1-23; Vertical’s flagship West Town location (2006 W. Chicago Ave. #1R) hosts an opening reception Friday, Nov. 1 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
‘All My Heroes Are Dead’ transports viewers back to hip-hop’s pre-millennium golden age, with an emphasis on the early 1990s — a period synonymous with striking evolutions in rhyme schemes and production techniques. RYCA’s tributes take many forms, from Andy Warhol-inspired portraits to 3D busts to glass lyric pieces in the style of Victorian pub signage.
“There are genres and themes that recur throughout my work, and hip-hop is a theme I’ve touched on a hell of a lot. So for ‘All My Heroes Are Dead,’ I challenged myself to celebrate my favorite music in many different mediums and formats,” says RYCA, a.k.a. Ryan Callanan. “There are always people who come into a gallery for the first time and ask ‘Is all this work by one person?’ when it’s actually a 20-artist group show. But in this case, yeah, it’s all by one person. I can’t make a whole show of one style. It doesn't interest me anymore.”
‘All My Heroes Are Dead’ reserves its greatest affection for Christopher Wallace, the late, lamented Brooklyn rapper and street stoic known to the world at large as the Notorious B.I.G. “He was the voice that got me really sucked into hip-hop. His stuff is mad. It’s like poetry — fucking crazy metaphors,” RYCA says. “Trying to catch someone's attention in today's world is really hard, but art is still a tool for that. If even one person comes to this show and it makes them Spotify Biggie, or a rapper they’ve never heard before, then I’ve done my job.”
RYCA hopes ‘All My Heroes Are Dead’ inspires others to acknowledge hip-hop’s megaton impact on contemporary art and design. “I don't think there's enough hip-hop art out there. There's a massive void that needs to be filled, because this music is not celebrated enough,” he states. “Instead, every time I look at Instagram, all of the artists I thought were cool are doing cringey content. Everyone’s trying to tell jokes or to be quirky. I want to see art that stops me in my tracks. It’s time to bring the old school back.”
RYCA studied 3D design and modelmaking at London’s Barking & Dagenham College, and worked as a sign maker before embracing street art and screenprinting. In addition to solo exhibits in London, Miami and Paris, he has collaborated with artists ranging from DJ Fatboy Slim to Ben Eine. In 2016, RYCA featured alongside Brad Novak and Chris Cunningham in Vertical Gallery’s ‘ICONS,’ going on to contribute to Vertical’s anniversary group shows in 2019 and 2020.
RYCA
‘All My Heroes Are Dead’
November 1 – 23, 2024
Opening reception Friday November 1st, 5:00-8:00pm
Vertical Gallery, 2006 W Chicago Ave #1R, Chicago