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Vertical Gallery is proud to present our second solo exhibition with UK artist My Dog Sighs. The exhibition “Days and Nights and the Places in-between” is February 2 - 24, 2018, with an opening reception with the artist on Friday, February 2, 5:00-9:00pm.
My Dog Sighs has inspired countless art lovers with his famous Free Art Friday project, which began 15 years ago when the artist left his artwork in public spaces for people to find. Since then, My Dog Sighs has gained an incredible international following in the UK, USA, and Japan. My Dog Sighs has quickly risen in the contemporary art scene, with five sold out shows under his belt to date.
My Dog now returns to Chicago, in follow-up to his successful USA debut at the gallery back in September 2014. He plans to engage the audience with a whole host of familiar and poignant narratives hidden deep within his signature glassy eyes, and a few other familiar themes to amuse and pull heart strings.
“My life this past year has thrown huge highs and lows. The comfort of being surrounded by those I love contrasting with the loss of those I held dear; creative achievements and moments of melancholy.” says the artist, “I’ve been higher than I could imagine and experienced loss that cuts deep. This exhibition brings together all of these feelings.”
My Dog Sighs: Days and Nights and the Places in-between
February 2 – 24, 2018
Opening reception with artist, Friday, February 2nd, 5:00 – 9:00 pm.
Artist talk, Saturday, February 3rd, 3:00 – 4:00 pm.
Vertical Gallery, 1016 N Western Ave., Chicago
Curator :
After 15 years of giving his art away for free as part of the now infamous Free Art Friday project in the UK, My Dog Sighs has found himself strapped in to a well-deserved meteoric rise. With an incredible international following in the USA, Israel, Japan and the UK, three sold out shows under his belt, and astronomical numbers on Facebook, Instagram and Youtube; My Dog Sighs has become an important figure on the contemporary art scene.
My Dog Sighs’ style is characterised by the combination of melancholic and often naive portraiture with the use of found materials including used spray paint cans or abandoned food cans; an unusual choice when considering traditional street art ideas of painting or pasted walls. Initially stemming from the desire to interact with the true public without causing permanent damage to public and private property this transient work is not concerned with permanence or mass audience, but a beautiful desire to communicate quietly with a single participant. Why cans? By recycling already ‘lost’ and abandoned materials, the cans add a layer of humanity and fragility echoing the solitary moment the ‘finder’ discovers this lost soul.
My Dog Sighs focuses the relationship and emotional discourse which arises between the work and the audience. Melancholic figures left on the streets pull the unsuspecting viewer into a confusing moral dilemma; where the guilt of ‘taking’ is directly opposed with the desire to nurture and protect.
Vertical Gallery, 1016 N Western Ave., Chicago
