September 9 – 27, 2026
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 12, 1 – 5 pm
Open until 9 pm on Thursday, September 24th for Canadian Art Hop
Artist Talk: Sunday, September 27, 2:30 – 3:30 pm
The Gang of 5 art collective features multidisciplinary artists: Patrick Jenkins, Al Runt, Randal Gordy Lee, Vince Vaitiekunas and Michael
Zaharuk. This eclectic group of artists have come together, uniting in their shared language of cartoons, whimsy and thought-provoking yet gritty
storytelling. In this show, the group will be exhibiting original paintings, one-of-a-kind prints, comics, flip books, T-shirts, merch and much more.
Patrick Jenkins is an award-winning artist, animator, and graphic novel artist. Al Runt is an iconic Canadian street artist and painter. Randal Gordy
Lee is a Toronto artist known for his spectacular yet delicate works in oil and ink. Vince Vaitiekunas of Moving Comic Factory infamy is a Canadian
comic illustrator and artist, and Michael Zaharuk is a Toronto-based illustrator, painter and political cartoonist.
Patrick Jenkins
Al “Runt” Currie
Randal Gordy Lee
Vince Vaitiekunas
Michael Zaharuk
BIOS:
Patrick Jenkins is an award-winning artist, animator and filmmaker. His movies have been screened at Film Festivals around the world and shown
on the C.B.C., WNED PBS and BRAVO! Television Canada. His artworks have been shown at YYZ Gallery, Mercer Union Art Gallery,
Loop Gallery, among others. His first graphic novel, Tales from Phantom City was published by At Bay Press in 2023. He recently completed the sequel. He is also the author/illustrator of Flipbook Animation and Other Ways to Make Cartoons Move (Kids Can Press, 1991) and numerous flipbooks.
He lives and works in Toronto, Canada.
For the Gang of Five exhibition, I will be showing original drawings on paper from my first graphic novel, Tales from Phantom City (2023), accompanied by two plywood cut-out pieces from the early 1990’s.
For over 40 years, Al “Runt” Currie has been an iconic fixture in Canada’s art scene, with impressive works displayed both at home and
internationally. His works are vibrant, colourful, abstract and fun, full of life and imagination, and accessible to people of all ages and cultures.
Informed by a wide range of influences from Hieronymus Bosch to Dr.Seuss, Runt has carved a career as one of Canada’s singular visionaries
on par with 80’s icons Keith Haring and Kenny Scharf.
Randal Gordy Lee
“My artworks may begin in many ways—with a line, a shape, a colour, a memory, a situation, a feeling. But they all end the same way. They
become a story. I’ve always been intrigued by people, and by their stories. The human figure is a constant in my artwork—not as static portraits, but engaged in complex situations or settings. Sometimes they become an individual story or artwork, or sometimes they emerge as a series of paintings, much like chapters in a book. I find inspiration in everyday dramas and dilemmas ~ in the provocative, the uncomfortable, and the disturbing, but also in the intimate, joyful and redemptive.”
Vince Vaitiekunas is a Toronto-born and multidisciplinary in both art and design disciplines alike, I was inspired from an early age by the classic surrealist Magritte, as well as pop and indie underground American comic artists. East European theatre poster design and the bold metaphorical themes helped in my development towards a colourful dynamic comic-like approach in my work.
Both a commercial illustrator for The Wall Street Journal, and various North American editorial magazines, including The Globe and Mail during the
1990s & early 2000s. Since then, many group and solo shows, both in New York & Toronto & Montreal, my works are also included in collections in Switzerland as well as private collections in Canada.
Artistic intentions of my work most often include a metaphoric message in the design and juxtaposition of elements that are universal to the human
condition. Bold colour and design, with a tinge of humour help to convey the story in the imagery.
Michael Zaharuk is an Artist, illustrator, and Editorial Cartoonist. He has been a member of Propeller Gallery for over 10 years. His work has
appeared in publications such as: The Chicago Tribune, The Toronto Star, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. Michael’s work is
inspired by a range of artists, from German expressionists like George Grosz to American artists such as Phillip Guston and Edward Gorey.
Michael also works as a Scenic and Storyboard Artist for the Toronto film industry and has taught illustration at The George Brown School of Design
and OCAD University for over 10 years.
