Matt Furie, the artist and illustrator known for crafting (and killing) the frog character Pepe, brings his humorous and vibrant sensibilities to Nucleus Portland in a show currently running at the gallery. “Tuff Crowd” offers both crowd scenes and single portraits, all packed with Furie characters.
“Tuff Crowd” runs through April 3 at the gallery. This show follows two recent gallery shows for the artist, one with Aiyana Udesen at Left Field Gallery in February and another last fall at Thank You Gallery in Norfolk. Upon Pepe the Frog being co-opted by followers of Donald Trump during the 2016 Presidential Election, the continued negative use of the character compelled the illustrator to kill him in a 2017 strip.
See more “Tuff Crowd” works below.