Vertical Gallery is Chicago’s premier urban-contemporary art gallery. Established in April 2013 in the West Town neighborhood, the gallery focuses on work influenced by street art, urban environments, graffiti, pop culture, graphic design and illustration. Vertical Gallery has distinguished itself as a pioneer in its consistent programming of significant emerging and established local, national and international artists. The gallery has served as a catalyst for numerous artists who have moved on to exhibit at major art venues and museums worldwide.
As of October 2025 the gallery will focus on art fairs, pop-ups, and destination events across the U.S. and abroad. The new approach begins at Aqua Art Miami (December 3–7) and builds on Vertical’s successful presentations in Paris and New York.
Chicago will remain part of the journey. In March 2026, Vertical will celebrate its 13-year anniversary in partnership with Jackson Junge Gallery, and in July the gallery will present acclaimed Dutch painter Collin van der Sluijs in collaboration with Joy Machine Gallery. Additional exhibitions are planned.
Read more here on the 2025 update
Image: Gallery View, 11-Year Anniversary exhibit
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Vertical Gallery is proud to present ‘the desire to communicate vs. the desire to hide,’ Chicago artist Bianca Pastel’s first solo exhibition of original paintings.
‘the desire to communicate vs. the desire to hide,’ which runs from Feb. 2-24, features a dozen new canvases charting Pastel’s personal and professional evolution, with an emphasis on the experiences and emotions that shaped her adolescence and early adulthood. Pastel will attend the exhibit’s opening reception, taking place at Vertical Gallery on Friday, Feb. 2 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
‘the desire to communicate vs. the desire to hide’ pivots on two of Pastel’s signature characters, Binky and $unny. The former was originally conceived as the centerpiece of ‘Yo, Binky,’ a proposed animated series (produced by Pastel’s mentor, Chicago-born artist Hebru Brantley) depicting the semi-autobiographical adventures of three elementary school-aged Black girls. The masked, non-binary $unny, on the other hand, draws on Pastel’s ongoing struggles to connect with the world at large.
“Both characters are different versions of myself. $unny’s the one that hides, whereas Binky is the one that communicates. She’s very free-spirited, and doesn't really care what other people think,” Pastel explains. “We all have so many versions of ourselves. We're not one-dimensional. Making these characters helped me to find out who I was — it’s like I finally met myself. I hope viewers can relate. This show is for you more than for me, because I want you to learn something about me, and I want you to see yourself in this human being.”
Pastel — a lifelong devotee of Nineties-era Nickelodeon network fare like ‘Rugrats’ and ‘Hey Arnold’ — originally envisioned a career in animation before going on to study art and design at Columbia College. She joined Brantley’s Hebru Brand Studios in 2015. Pastel has since collaborated with brands including the Walt Disney Company and the NFL’s Chicago Bears, as well as rapper Vic Mensa. Vertical Gallery released Pastel’s art print “Binky Inna Bottle” in 2022, and in late 2023, she participated in the Vertical group show ‘Ode to….’
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