Alex Face wall murals – new 2022
2900 W Chicago – solo wall on back of building in parking lot
2006 W Chicago #1R – collaboration wall with Chicago artist Joseph Renda Jr. (alley side of 2006 W Chicago)
2039 North Ave. – solo wall on side of building
1024 N Western – collaboration wall with Yon, Goopmassta, and DY3
Crawford Steel Company - collaboration with Face and SechoR
Vertical Gallery, AJ Ainscough take you inside ‘Back Outside’
Vertical Gallery is very proud to present ‘Back Outside,’ the debut solo exhibit from Chicago-based painter AJ Ainscough. ‘Back Outside,’ which runs from Aug. 13 through Sept. 4 at Vertical Project Space’s West Town location (2006 W. Chicago Ave. #1R; enter via the alley off Damen Ave.), features 13 new canvases rendered in Ainscough’s already inimitable style — a controlled chaos that embraces and subverts traditions including pop art, cartoon realism, impressionism and surrealism.
‘Back Outside’ — which arrives six months after ‘A Warrior in the Garden,’ the Line Dot Editions joint showcase pairing Ainscough with Chicago printmaker and painter Steve Seeley — explores the artist’s efforts to navigate the increasingly precarious twists and turns of everyday life situations. “This body of work is about restlessness,” Ainscough explains. “It’s about never relaxing, and about an inability to really let go and enjoy the space around you because of the thoughts in your head.”
The outsize, fantastical imagery dominating ‘Back Outside’ belies the autobiographical intimacy of Ainscough’s work. “Each figure in each painting is a version of myself,” he says. “It’s a different adaptation of what I’m feeling, but I interpret and exaggerate my experiences to emphasize whatever feeling I’m trying to create.”
Ainscough was born and raised in Chicago Heights, Ill. He began sketching as a toddler, later churning through artistic influences ranging from Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues to the Garbage Pail Kids trading card series to the underground comix of R. Crumb. He initially aspired to a career in animation, but switched his focus to painting while a student at Eastern Illinois University under the tutelage of mentor Chris Kahler.
Ainscough has since contributed to group shows in Chicago, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Los Angeles, and later in 2022 his work will appear in the Vertical Gallery group show ‘Atomic Number 13 Part 2’ as well as ‘#INK 2’ at Vertical Project Space. His portfolio also includes a summer 2022 mural for Soho House Chicago.
AJ Ainscough
‘Back Outside’
Aug 13 - Sept 4, 2022
Opening day: Saturday August 13th, 12-5
AJ will be in attendance on opening day
Vertical Project Space, 2006 W Chicago Ave #1R, open weekends noon-5pm
Vertical Gallery is very proud to present Alex Face’s first full-gallery USA solo show. Following up on the sold-out two person show (with MueBon) in 2019, Alex Face returns with this incredible new collection of work.
Patcharapol Tangruen (aka Alex Face) is a well-known and highly collectible artist from Bangkok, Thailand. He studied architecture at Bangkok’s King Mongktut Institute of Technology and earned a bachelor’s degree in the Department of Fine and Applied Arts.
He created Alex Face, a character with an aged, disillusioned child’s face wearing animal costumes who is worrying about the future of our world. Alex Face’s art attempts to create a link with the urban population and the underprivileged of Bangkok.
ALEX FACE
'FACES'
August 6 - 27, 2022
Opening day: Saturday August 6th, 12-6
Alex Face will be in attendance on opening day
Vertical Gallery, 1016 N. Western Ave.
VIEW THE SHOW HERE
Vertical Gallery is very proud to present ‘Collision,’ a solo exhibit spotlighting Netherlands-based painter Collin van der Sluijs. Running from July 9-30, ‘Collision’ — van der Sluijs’ fourth solo show at Vertical, following two years after the acclaimed ‘A Garden of Trust’ — presents the category-defying artist’s most ambitious and immersive collection to date, bringing together paintings and works on paper that reveal profound new depth and dimension in his dreamlike, deeply personal approach.
In a unique twist, ‘Collision’ occupies both Vertical’s flagship location at 1016 N. Western Ave. and Vertical Project Space at 2006 W. Chicago Ave #1R; Van der Sluijs will attend the show opening on Saturday, July 9, and will also paint two new murals during his return visit to the Chicago area.
‘Collision’ spreads between the two galleries 10 intricate, giant-scale canvases, five midsize canvases, 12 works on panels, and over 50 works on paper. “I created all this work over the past two years,” van der Sluijs says. “I call the show ‘Collision’ because I feel like these strange times have caused a collision between me as a person and my work. I want to be free, and not a puppet on strings directed by anybody.”
Van der Sluijs credits the volume and variety on display in ‘Collision’ to the different experiences and environments that shape his daily routine. When in nature, for example, he focuses on watercolors and the surrounding landscape, while in the studio, he works on oil and acrylic paintings depicting a range of emotional states. Evenings at the kitchen table are devoted to sketches and watercolors, and walks through the city inspire new mural projects.
“Collin spent most of the lockdown biking to his studio every day and creating an amazing body of work — so many works that we decided for the first time to feature the same artist in both gallery spaces,” says Vertical Gallery owner and curator Patrick Hull. “Both locations will present work in a range of styles, with VPS [Vertical Project Space] displaying all 50 small sketches and mid-sized drawings alongside a few larger paintings, and Vertical Gallery featuring most of the works on canvas and the panels. We’re looking forward to everyone once again experiencing Collin’s world in a gallery setting.”
Van der Sluijs began writing graffiti at the age of 11, a year later commencing studies at the professional painting college in Goes. He spent the next eight years studying a range of disciplines in institutions across the Netherlands, in 2004 earning a Master’s degree in fine art from the Academy of Art and Design St. Joost in Breda. In the years since, van der Sluijs has exhibited in galleries across Europe and the U.S., also painting murals in The Hague, Berlin and Leuven, Belgium, among other locales.
Collin van der Sluijs
“Collision”
July 9 – 30, 2022
Vertical Gallery – Tues-Sat 12-6
Vertical Project Space – Sat & Sun 12-5
Vertical Gallery is very proud to present ‘Larger Than Life,’ a solo exhibit featuring Chicago painter Joseph Renda Jr. ‘Larger Than Life,’ which runs from June 4-25 at our 1016 N. Western Ave. location, assembles two dozen paintings and watercolor studies exploring the outsized impact of humankind on the natural world. In conjunction with the show’s opening, taking place Saturday, June 4 from noon to 6:00 pm, Vertical will release two new prints by Renda as well as a book, also titled ‘Larger Than Life.’ Renda will return to the gallery Saturday, June 18 for an artist talk beginning at 11:00 am.
‘Larger Than Life,’ which follows two years after Renda’s first solo Vertical showcase, ‘Biophilia,’ contrasts the vastness of nature with the relative triviality of the humans who nevertheless pose Earth’s greatest threat — an imbalance the artist portrays via human figures dwarfed by surrealistic landscapes (the first time he has incorporated landscapes and backgrounds into his work).
“The title ‘Larger Than Life’ speaks to the feeling of walking in nature, looking out into the wilderness and feeling engulfed by your surroundings,” Renda explains. “Some of these pieces touch on eco-activist themes, while others focus on our connection to nature in a more whimsical way. Having the human element in these pieces means viewers can relate to the ideas more directly. Conceptually and visually, this is my most cohesive body of work to date.”
Highlights of ‘Larger Than Life’ include “Through Innocent Eyes,” created in conjunction with Renda’s 12-year-old brother Reagan. “I asked him to draw a house and a tree, and then I created a trompe-l'œil version that looks like crayon,” Renda says. “The way kids draw trees and houses is very innocent. They look at nature as something to explore — something to interact with. Half of the pieces in this show encourage people to recapture their childlike innocence about nature; the other half is about our impact on nature, and how we use it for personal gain. It’s up to the viewer to choose how they want to interact, but if we keep going the way we’re going, there isn’t going to be nature anymore.”
Renda earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the American Academy of Art in 2018, a year after making his Vertical Gallery debut as part of an all-star holiday pop-up event. He has since shown in numerous group exhibitions both at home and abroad, and in 2021 curated two Vertical group shows, ‘Water the Plants’ and ‘Atomic Number 13.’ Renda has also created murals throughout the Chicagoland area, and owns and operates the art services and custom framing company ArtBuilds.
Joseph Renda Jr.
‘Larger Than Life’
June 4 – 25, 2022
Opening Day: Saturday, June 4th, noon-6pm
Vertical Gallery, 1016 N Western Ave.
