News — Vertical Gallery

We are very excited to have Mau Mau and Beejoir in Chicago for their upcoming exhibition opening on July 8. We have been personally collecting their work since 2010, and can't wait to see what they bring to the gallery. If you don't know these two artists, you should definitely check them out. Come see this very special exhibition and see why their shows in the UK, Japan and Thailand have sold-out.

Mau Mau is a renowned British urban graffiti artist who’s gained an international following with his humorous street, print and graffiti work. He incorporates political, environmental and cultural commentary to his work – often with his trademark character of a mischievous and fun loving Fox. With roots planted in surf and country vibes of the North Devon coast, Mau Mau brings an air of rural sophistication to the art he has been creating for twenty years. He has painted his way around the world, his artwork appearing on everything from shipwrecks to surfboards and billboards to city walls.

Mau Mau has produced work for World Land Trust, Greenpeace, Surfers Against Sewage and the Glastonbury Festival, and for record companies such as Ninja Tunes and Lowlife Records. He is the architect of cult brands Sewerside Boardwear and Fear Trade. His street work can also been seen all over the world including the UK, Jamaica, Thailand and Australia.

Beejoir was born in the UK and currently resides between Tokyo and Bangkok. Using varied practice's and methods of installation, sculpture, painting, spray painting and drawing, Beejoir explores modern society, conveying the way in which he sees the changing world around him and where he sees it heading. He is known for his irreverent work that is both provocative and powerful.

Beejoir has successfully shown, curated and exhibited in over 70 solo and group shows across the world in some of the leading private galleries, institutions and auction houses. His work is collected by hip hop artists, celebrities and members of the royal family and has been featured in sell-out shows throughout the world. Beejoir has also been featured in several publications, including being recognized in 'Beyond the Street’ as one the world’s 100 leading figures in street art. He has also spent over 10 years growing the careers of like-minded artists with his company Souled Out Studios.

Beejoir x Mau Mau: Foreign Policy
July 8 – 29, 2017
Opening reception with artists, Saturday, July 8, 6:00 – 10:00 pm.
Vertical Gallery, 1016 N Western Ave., Chicago

We are very thankful to all of our Chicago collectors, and all from around the world that visit us at the gallery, or purchase from us online. Now entering our 4th year, we were named one of The Best Independent Galleries in Chicago by The Culture Trip. We are extremely pleased to be mentioned with the other iconic galleries on the list. Thanks to all of you for your support. We have incredible artists lined up through the end of 2018, in addition to special pop-up exhibitions and art fairs. We hope to see you soon!

THE CULTURE TRIP: THE BEST INDEPENDENT ART GALLERIES IN CHICAGO

We're very excited to have Greg Gossel coming to Chicago for his solo show Superficial! Greg is partnering with 1xRun for a special hand-printed series. 1xRun will be releasing 21 of the edition and we will have 11 of the edition. Contact us if you would like a preview of the edition. The show at our gallery will also feature over 30 new original works on canvas, wood, and paper.

I have to agree with Greg to his reaction to the work for the show: POW!

Click here to read the full interview at 1xRun.

Click here to purchase a work from the hand-painted series Superficial!

For his debut US solo show, London-based graffiti artist Xenz focused his body of work on the underworld of Chicago, as described in "The Outfit" by Gus Russo. Click here to read the full description of the exhibition. Xenz also wanted to give back to the local Chicago arts scene. While at an antique market in Andersonville, he found a vintage cigar box that had a hole cut in the top to use as a bank. A cigar box... a bank... the underworld... perfect for an Al Capone dollar bill, and for 100% of the proceeds to be given to the Chicago-based non-profit The Simple Good.

The raffle will go through the length of the exhibition. Tickets may be purchased at the gallery, or you may send money through PayPal as a gift, and we will email you your raffle ticket number. Tickets are $5 each, 3 for $10, or 7 for $20. For PayPal entries, send payment to patrick@verticalgallery.com, and include your name, phone number and email address. We will email you a confirmation and ticket numbers.

Description:

Xenz
Cicero, 2014
Acrylic and 22-carat gold-leaf painted box, with ink on one dollar bill.
Signed by Xenz

Winner will be drawn at random on July 26. Winner will be contacted by email, and we will publish the winners name on our blog after they have been contacted. Please contact Patrick at Vertical Gallery if you have any questions.

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.