“Up Top”
"Up Top"
by Gregory J. Rose
2025, Mixed Media On Panel, 24“x24”
A vertically charged abstraction built from rising linework, stacked color blocks, and intersecting gestures that register early awareness, moral formation, and orientation. Exhibited in the Dauntless Indignant Geography Solo Exhibition at NE SCULPTURE | Gallery Factory. Unframed. Certificate of Authenticity included.
Collector Snapshot
Up Top opens the Triptych with a meditation on beginnings. Inspired by the koan, “What does the rooster crow to the still rabbit?”, the work inhabits the moment before response, before fear, before consequence.
This painting draws from childhood memory as moral training ground. Morning dew, ants tending peonies, bikes cutting through neighborhoods and cemeteries, first kisses, scraped skin, and early discipline all collapse into a single visual field. The composition reflects how lessons are learned long before they are understood. Right and wrong are not abstract concepts here. They are enforced, corrected, repeated, and remembered.
As the first work in the Triptych, Up Top establishes the altitude of awareness. It is the vantage point from which descent, hesitation, and reckoning later unfold in Down Low and Too Slow. For collectors, this piece functions as the ethical and psychological anchor of the three-part work.
Artwork &
Acquisition Details
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High Growth
This work demonstrates strong growth indicators through its exhibition provenance, its alignment with a pivotal moment in Gregory’s development, and its position within a cohesive series with limited availability and increasing collector interest.
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One of One Original
This is the only version of this artwork. No editions exist. The artist will contact the collector directly to coordinate delivery or domestic insured shipping.
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Retail Price: $4,800
Unframed
Framing recommendations available upon request. Local installation support offered.
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Available Until Sold
Standard acquisition timeline applies. Gregory will reach out within three to five business days to coordinate insured domestic shipping or local delivery.
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Signature Masterwork Tier
The strength of the series’ exhibition visibility, paired with the depth of structural language present in this work, positions it as a defining example of Gregory’s mature mixed media practice.
Artwork Details
Inspired by the Koan:
“What does the rooster crow to the still rabbit?”
He’s touched the morning dew as the sunlight refracts through the cold droplet of water upon the blade of grass in the backyard of his childhood home.
Watch the ants care for the Peonies.
Mom liked the pink blooms—
or were they white.
Mom used Coppertone—and we roamed the neighborhood on bikes
Testing skills and fear in cemeteries.
Forgotten dreams and mistakes laid to rest in one place
And having your first kiss at halfmoon was a thing to do.
Spider bites from working the zones of tombstones so we could buy enough pot, LS D and Mad Dog 20/20
Way before you thought Tik Tok was an app.
Your mama and your mama’s mama and her mama
Slap the taste out your mouth.
For being disrespectful.
Auntie and Nanny didn’t play—
Unless it was the numbers.
And the 2’s better be hitting.
I’m not—Fucking Playing with this shit
Or—y’all
No
MO.
The boys had to sweep, do the dishes and clean the kitchen floor.
Before playing Coleco vision.
X-Ray vision—
Simple up, down, left and right.
What’s right is Right
What’s wrong is wrong.
You don’t know the words to this damn song.
This was my jam back in the day.
Man, you know you wrong.
Shit—man
Then what’s the name of the song?
Fuck You!
And we keep—
Keeping on.
Full Description
Up Top is composed of upward-moving marks, compressed vertical pathways, and layered interruptions that suggest both ascent and restraint. Blues dominate the upper register, while warmer yellows and reds anchor the lower field, creating a visual hierarchy that mirrors moral instruction.
Linework overlaps and redirects itself, echoing childhood rules learned through repetition and correction. The surface feels restless yet structured, like memory replayed rather than recalled. The painting does not narrate a single moment. It accumulates them, allowing discipline, play, fear, and curiosity to coexist within the same visual system.
Authentication
Certificate of Authenticity included
Digital documentation provided
Hidden signature integrated within the painting
Artist signature on the back
Provenance
Dauntless Indignant Geography Solo Exhibition
This artwork was featured in Gregory’s 2025 solo exhibition at NE SCULPTURE | Gallery Factory, a gallery centered on supporting emerging and mid-career contemporary artists. The exhibition explored internal geographies and the reconstruction of personal terrain through mixed media abstraction. After the exhibition concluded, the artwork returned to the artist’s studio collection.
Shipping & Insurance Info
Nationwide United States shipping
Fully insured packing and transport
Local delivery available
Installation support offered
Gregory coordinates all logistics within three to five business days
The Triptych Collection
Market Relevance
he Dauntless Indignant Geography Series occupies a distinct position within contemporary abstraction by merging Zen inquiry, Black cultural memory, and spatial mapping. Up Top grounds the Triptych in early formation, offering collectors an exhibited work that translates lived experience into disciplined visual structure.
Comparable Sales
Comparable sales data is currently being compiled. Pricing is based on Gregory’s established retail structure for mixed media works and documented exhibition history.
Artist Market Position
Gregory is an established regional artist with national reach, with works in private, public, and academic collections. His continued exhibition activity, growing catalog, and expanding licensing partnerships bolster collector confidence. Exhibited series works such as Up Top reflect the most current evolution of his practice and hold strong relevance for long-term collectors.
Price Growth of Mixed Media Works (2018–2025)
“Up Top captures the formative moment where awareness is shaped through repetition, correction, and care.
The work frames morality not as abstraction, but as lived instruction learned through family, place, and consequence. As the opening panel of the Triptych, it establishes the ethical altitude from which the remaining works descend and delay.”
— Curatorial Commentary
Terms of Sale
Secure payment options
This artwork is sold through a secure Flodesk checkout, which allows buyers to pay via credit card or digital payment methods. All transactions are encrypted and processed securely. Invoice options are available upon request.
Returns
All sales are final. No returns or exchanges are accepted for original artwork. This policy ensures proper stewardship and authenticity for collectors.
Ownership transfer / documentation
Upon purchase, the collector receives:
A Certificate of Authenticity
A digital ownership document via email
A signed confirmation of sale
Shipping or installation coordination within 3–5 business days
View The Entire Dauntless Indignant Geography Series Collection
