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UNICAT has invited indie comic book creators Thony Aiuppy and James Greene to explore graphic screenprinting as a strategy for recontextualizing their work. Following the tradition of Pop Art icons like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, FULL BLEED presents original screenprints—ranging from formal editions to unique experiments—based on illustrations from the artists' sequential narratives. By extracting these images from the traditional syntax of the comic book page, the artwork is liberated from its original text. This shift allows viewers to redirect the imagery's connotations and focus purely on the sophisticated visual language of the cartoon.Despite their massive popularity, comics have historically been relegated to the margins of the fine art world, often dismissed as commercial or juvenile. This stigma overlooks the extraordinary discipline required of the cartoonist, who must master the figure, expression, design, and pacing to tell a story panel by panel. FULL BLEED celebrates comic art not as a precursor to "real" art, but as a rigorous and established medium crafted with intention and emotional depth. This exhibition encourages viewers to slow down and "read" these images, recognizing the techniques behind a form once considered disposable.
As an art form, comics tap into a powerful sense of personal memory. For many, comic strips were their first encounter with visual storytelling, sparking imagination long before they learned the formal rules of the art world. FULL BLEED invites the audience to return to that initial sense of wonder—distinct from mere nostalgia—to honor a medium that has profoundly shaped how we see, dream, and communicate.
Ultimately, this exhibition places the spotlight on the craft and visual language of the creators and the enduring magic of their illustrated worlds.
THONY AIUPPY
Thony Aiuppy is a visual artist and art educator based in Jacksonville, Florida. Since 2020, Aiuppy has focused his creative endeavors through the form of comics. In 2021, he released his first comic, HAINT TALES. His comics have been featured in Clusterfux Comix, Xomik Bük, Municipal Threat, and other publications, featuring his flagship characters THE AQUABARIAN and CRYPTIDS from the DAMNED PLATOON. In December 2025, Aiuppy was awarded the Art Ventures Grant through the Community Foundation of Northeast Florida. With the grant he will create a graphic novel about the architect Henry Klutho and his impact in Jacksonville.
JAMES GREENE
Iowa native James Greene's artistic journey began with drawing editorial cartoons for his high school newspaper. His weekly comic strip in college, The Riot Act, ran for 3 years in the Northern Iowan newspaper. A versatile artist and educator, Greene’s printmaking work has spanned the US, India and Poland, where he studied in the Spring of 2004. A 5-time Scholastic Gold Key Educator's Award recipient, Greene has served the public in museums, art magnet schools, universities, and libraries since 2006. In 2022, his minicomic Larry Loathman Snake Master was chosen for the exhibit "A Serious Look at the Funnies: 100 Years of Comics," curated by Denis Kitchen and Sam Yates. In 2024 James was a recipient of an Individual Artist’s Grant from the City of Jacksonville to fund his comics-making endeavors. His latest book is the first chapter of a series entitled The Windlords of Io-Wah, set during the awful summer of 2020.
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The UniCat 602 East Union St. Jax FL, 606 E Union St, Jacksonville, FL 32206-5641, United States
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