A BATHING APE has teamed up with art publication The Online Gallery to present HYPERREAL: IDENTITY, MYTH, AND MEMORY, a new group exhibition in Chicago curated by The OG creative director Ché Morales.
Coinciding with EXPO ART WEEK, HYPERREAL spotlights six renowned Chicago-based artists—Brandon Breaux, Brendan Fernandes, Esperanza Rosas, Julian Gaines, Sydnie Jimenez, and Yvette Mayorga—each chosen for their ability to reflect and reshape the visual DNA of the city, while pushing conversations around authenticity, visibility, and transformation.
Grounded in BAPE’s ethos of FEARLESS EXPRESSION, the show channels the raw, imaginative energy of Chicago’s creative scene to offer an immersive look at how artists reimagine selfhood and place. The works featured construct new narratives rooted in lived experience, ancestral memory, and the ever-shifting identity of the city itself.
“In a city where public art speaks louder than policy and myth bleeds into daily life, these artists are creating work that exists in the space between truth and fiction,” says Morales. “HYPERREAL is a remix of identity—rooted in community, but projected into the future.”
Each of the six HYPERREAL artists will also be featured in THE OG EDITION 14, presented in partnership with BAPE. Each edition of THE OG magazine showcases diverse artists, curators, and cultural innovators, amplifying their voices while challenging traditional boundaries of accessibility and exclusivity.
HYPERREAL: IDENTITY, MYTH, AND MEMORY runs from April 26th to May 22nd, on display at BAPE STORE CHICAGO, located at 113 E. Oak Street. Check out the artist lineup below.
Brandon Breaux
Brendan Fernandes
Esperanza “Runsy” Rosas
Julian Gaines
Sydnie Jimenez
Yvette Mayorga
