Vertical Gallery is proud to present ‘The Sky Is Falling,’ the debut solo exhibition from Chicago-based painter and animator Adam Augustyn.

‘The Sky Is Falling,’ which runs from Jan. 29 to Feb. 27 at Vertical Project Space’s West Town location (2006 W. Chicago Ave. #1R) assembles paintings created in response to the proliferation and normalization of fringe conspiracy theories and the difficulty in parsing real from fantastical threats in today's world.

According to Augustyn, the works featured in ‘The Sky Is Falling’ summon motion and depict disasters both real and manmade, simulating the sense of bombardment and urgency created by the news cycle as well as the social communities and corporate interests that feed it. The viewer is asked to parse friend from foe in colorful but sinister cityscapes populated by humans and monsters alike.

“The paintings pose the question of ‘Fight or flight?’ from a fresh lens,” Augustyn says. “Do we engage and confront the exaggeration, or do we withdraw from the society that permits it — and implicitly, is the grass any greener upon escape?”

Augustyn's work is inspired by animation, mythology, music, cults, horror films, his hometown of Chicago, and the latest obsessions of his three daughters. His paintings play with scale, color, and theme to produce the unexpected (oversized humans, vibrant playful demons) and to emphasize the impact of our choices, actions and moods on the environment around us.

Augustyn has previously exhibited in group shows in Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle.

Adam Augustyn
‘The Sky is Falling’
January 29 – February 27, 2022
Vertical Project Space
2006 W. Chicago Ave. #1R
The gallery is open weekends, 12-5 pm.