Sarah Taddeo

@sjtaddeo

A local artist and musician opened a Park Avenue store displaying merchandise from local artists.

Mike Dellaria is known for his eye-popping prints depicting national and local pop culture.

Collaborator Chris O'Brian plays with local band Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad, and works with Wall/Therapy.

The colorful pop culture prints showing up all over Rochester now have a permanent home of their own.

Penfield native Mike Dellaria, known under the name Dellarious, comes across as an unassuming and humble figure. But his work — bags of Rochester-esque pop art stickers affixed to electrical boxes around town, and biodegradable wheat paste depictions of Mr. Rogers and Star Trek’s Spock on I-490 — has been gaining momentum on Instagram and through word of mouth.

Now, he’s got a spot to showcase his wares on Park Avenue called Chase the Art, in a space attached to the studio he's been working in for about five years.

“It’s really rewarding to see my work all hanging up on the wall,” said Dellaria.

The store was operated by Dellaria’s father for years as a boutique offering gifts and accessories in a tucked-away corner of the plaza at 622 Park Ave.

Meanwhile, Dellaria was building a following making prints from his back-room studio. As he became more popular, the idea emerged to give him the space for collaborative art display and retail.

He and friend Chris O’Brian — a household name in the Rochester art scene and even more of a household name in the local music scene as the drummer for band Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad — spent the last few weeks outfitting the store with Dellaria’s prints and stickers, plus pieces from a handful of other of-the-moment artists.

O’Brian owned a space at the Rochester Public Market that was also called Chase the Art, and he felt it was fitting to transfer the name over, since it already had a social media presence and reflected the essence of his relationship to art — he’s a ravenous collector of posters.

The two men met when Dellaria created wheat paste depictions of Darth Vader for a Giant Panda show about a year ago.

“We realized we were friends almost immediately,” said O’Brian.

O’Brian’s on the organizational team for local mural powerhouse Wall/Therapy, which came in handy when he and Dellaria were looking for other artists to populate the store’s empty walls. Soon art and other merchandise came flowing in, though O’Brian’s sheer excitement about the project would inspire anyone to get on board.

“The support has been overwhelmingly positive,” he said, giving credit to their network of generous friends. The store is outfitted with visual art, jewelry and clothing, with the majority of it coming from local makers.

Vicki Smith of Rochester couldn’t contain her excitement after seeing the store transformed from its original look. She’s moving in a few months and looking for art to outfit her new place.

“When people walk into my apartment, I want them to say, ‘Where did you get that?’” said Smith, noting the uniqueness of the store’s artwork.

“I used to come here to get scarves as gifts. … Now I’m just like, ‘Wow,’” she said.

Chase the Art is in the plaza to stay, said Dellaria, and he and O’Brian are hoping to hold a grand opening event in the coming weeks.

STADDEO@Gannett.com