Grant William Thye

Grant William Thye’s dazzlingly geometric, cubist-inspired paintings and collages reinterpret the shapes, structures and forms synonymous with everyday life.

Grant was born and raised in Iowa, spending his teen years consumed by architecture and cartoons. While attending Central College, a small liberal arts institution 40 miles southeast of Des Moines, he took multiple printmaking and drawing courses but did not pursue an art degree, instead spending the first seven years of his professional life in a series of sales roles that led him across the U.S. 

Soon after landing in San Francisco in early 2007, Grant quit his job to devote himself to painting, following in the footsteps of Pablo Picasso, the Chicago Imagists and other giants of the 20th century. “The first time I saw Picasso, it made perfect sense — just shapes and lines, and using your imagination,” Grant says. “Even now, making my own shapes is what’s most interesting to me.” 

Grant quickly cultivated a collector base via the email newsletter he sent to family and friends, and in late 2007 he relocated to Chicago, where he made his first group show appearances. His work is now on display in museums and private collections around the world, and has been featured in books, periodicals and national advertising campaigns.

Grant met Vertical Gallery owner Patrick Hull in April 2013 while attending the gallery’s first-ever exhibition, and in March 2014 he headlined the Vertical solo showcase ‘Three Sides to Every Story,’ which combined his signature figurative abstractions with regionalist-influenced landscapes and cut-paper constructions. Grant returned to Vertical for May 2019’s ‘Second Time Around,’ followed five years later by ‘Release.’ He is also a staple of our springtime anniversary group shows, including the 2025 and 2026 installments.