Painter and designer Greg Mike preparing for “Chapter New,” the opening solo show for the renovated and expanded ABV Gallery. (Photo by Dave Roland)
Artist and designer Greg Mike has opened a new gallery space in a renovated church in East Atlanta. Getting to this point was by no means a direct path.
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Six years ago, painter and graphic designer Greg Mike lay unconscious in 6 feet of snow, the collarbone of his painting arm shattered, his arm badly lacerated. Doctors told him he might never paint again. This week, Mike will open a solo show of dozens of paintings titled Chapter New in his own brand-new gallery in East Atlanta. Getting to this point from that deep snow was just one part of a much longer journey in Mike’s multiyear effort to open the new space.
Chapter New, which runs through October 20, features more than 100 new works. Two years in the making, this is the biggest show Mike, 42, has ever assembled and his first solo show in a decade. There are 24 canvases, spotlighting both his classic, pop-influenced style and newer abstract styles. There are several smaller fiberglass and resin sculptures, and the center of attention is the 12-foot-tall, fiberglass Larry Loudmouf, a cartoon, block-headed character who speaks in aphorisms via speech bubbles and began as a kind of alter ego for Mike.
The show is technology forward, including NFTs and work in neon. Each of his virtual artworks on the blockchain also comes with a physical manifestation of the art. The show features an envelope pushing NFT series The Loud Ones, in which the artist has collaborated with a computer. Mike designed dozens of artistic elements, and computer software put them together in unique combinations.
Although Chapter New represents a crowning achievement for the artist, the journey to this point was far from direct.
Greg Mike was raised in Danbury, Connecticut, skateboarding in the summer and snowboarding in the winter. He fell in love with art via the graphics on board decks. His parents divorced when he was young. “It was definitely a traumatic experience for me as a kid,” said Mike in an interview. “Just growing up and not understanding all that stuff. Being angry about all that and not really being able to grasp the scenario.”
He needed to talk to someone, and his sketchbook was that someone. His sketches were dark and creepy, reflective of his feelings that he couldn’t get out verbally. As Mike became more serious about his art, that gloominess pervaded his artwork.
Attending art school at Florida State University, he realized his contemporaries were taken aback by this darkness. Concerned by these reactions, Mike thought, “What if I play into more of the happy childhood memories of watching afternoon cartoons — those feelings I used to get when parents weren’t around, and all I had was me and a television? And that’s when I started seeing different reactions from people.”
This change in attitude was cemented when Mike began doing murals. “It’s not fair for me to paint a giant mural of something that’s dark and creepy and force people to look at it when I’m coming into their neighborhood,” said the artist. “And I noticed that when I started painting, leaning into this happier and nostalgic world, my mood changed. I became a better person. I started seeing more success with my career. And I thought maybe this is my calling.”
Mike developed what he now calls his classic or “intertwined” style, inspired by the retro cartoons that soothed him during childhood. “Things are kind of weaving in and out. They’re more sinister. They are kind of flowing together. But obviously very happy and joyful, a mix of emotions,” Mike explained. “I’m never painting just a character word for word of what I’m seeing. It’s kind of taking inspiration from something, putting a twist on it and making something new. Almost like sampling when it comes to music.” Sometimes Mike’s urban murals also feature majestic carnivores, such as tigers or wolves, vigilantly watching over Atlanta.
In his 20s, Mike’s bright blue icon, Larry Loudmouf, was born out of a near-death experience. Mike sleepwalked off a second-floor balcony and woke up in a pool of blood with a cracked skull and a chipped tooth. The jagged tooth in Larry’s mouth symbolizes the preciousness and transitory nature of life. At first, Larry’s dialogue bubble expressed Mike’s personal thoughts. Then Mike asked his social media followers to submit one-liners for Larry to quip, sparking the Loudmouf Says international art project.
In 2009, Mike worked as an independent artist, designer and creative director with a solid Rolodex. He mounted a solo show at Medicine Agency in San Francisco and was impressed by its gallery/agency model. Returning to Atlanta, Mike was disappointed to see few such options like that here and thought, “It’s my time, and I should probably build something myself.”
Mike rented a space at Studioplex in Inman Park and the ABV Gallery + Agency was born. (ABV stands for A Better View) ABV has three tiers of operation: First, Mike’s personal brand as an artist; second, a design agency executing client-based projects; and third, a brick-and-mortar gallery showing the work of local and international artists. Mike prides himself on protecting the interests of artists while matching the right artist to the right project for clients such as Coca-Cola, which acquires and commissions art but might not know how to navigate the art world. Mike remembers being “terrified that I wouldn’t be able to afford the $1,500-a-month rent. But I’ve noticed in life when things scare you, it’s a good thing because it’s a sign of growth.”
Six years ago, Mike had another serious accident while snowboarding with his best friend Alan in Colorado — in 6 feet of newly fallen powder so deep they could barely see each other. Mike stopped for a break and Alan, unable to see Mike, collided with him at full speed. When Mike regained consciousness, the paramedics were loading him onto a sled and he thought: “It’s been a wild ride. Awesome. I’ve had some success. I’ve painted all around the world. But this is it.”
After a plate was surgically bolted to his shoulder and after months of diligent physical therapy, Mike regained his ability to paint, re-ignited his creativity and emerged with new strength and inspiration. Not long after his recovery, Mike was invited to paint at Wynwood Walls, the world’s premier street art museum.
ABV flourished in its Inman Park location and began to outgrow the space, and, eight years ago, the search for a larger building began. After four years, Mike’s real estate agent called about a church that had just gone on the market. And after another four years of renovation, ABV has now opened the doors of its new 8,500-square-foot home in the converted church on a large lot at 1206 Metropolitan Ave. in East Atlanta.
The exterior is high-tech flat black, minimizing its apparent external size. The space is much larger than it appears from the outside. The church’s original stained-glass windows grace the foyer. The retail area to the left and the bar to the right frame the entrance to the jaw-dropping 5,000-square-foot, two-story height main gallery with mirror-like polished concrete floors, museum quality walls and brilliant lighting. During the day, rows of second-story windows, added during the renovation, flood the interior with natural light. The main gallery is flanked with storage rooms and smaller galleries on both sides. Behind one of the side galleries is a storage room dedicated to racks upon racks of cans of colored spray paint. Behind the other side gallery is the “green room,” a back-of-house lounge area for guests, collectors and artists — with its own custom kitchenette.
In the rear of the building is Mike’s 950-square-foot personal studio. Digital workstations and tables stand on wheels, reconfigurable for tasks such as print signings. Double doors allow large sculptures or even a car to enter the studio for painting. Art show attendees can access the back courtyard and see a mural wall painted by the featured artist of each show. Additional exterior mural walls will be added in the future.
Upstairs is ABV Agency’s work space and conference room. And the crown jewel is a second-floor mezzanine with windows viewing the vast expanse of the main gallery. The building will play a starring role in ABV’s OuterSpace Project, an annual mural painting and celebration of the arts scheduled for November. Greg also hopes his art shows will bring more foot traffic to East Atlanta, boost local businesses and put East Atlanta on the arts map internationally.
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Arthur Rudick created the Atlanta Street Art Map in 2017 after retiring from a successful career as an engineer with Eastman Kodak and the Coca-Cola Company. His first experience of art was seeing an Alexander Calder mobile as a child in the Pittsburgh airport. Rudick is ArtsATL’s street art expert and a regular contributor.
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