Upcoming exhibition at Gallery5 will explore one of Richmond’s most obscure, prolific companies

Have you ever heard of the Richmond company Übercorp? I know I haven’t, but Gallery5 and a local artist are hoping to shed some light on this obscure company and its history in our town with a new exhibition opening September 1st.

From Gallery5 and local artist Noah Scalin:

What if a huge and powerful corporation existed right under your nose and you never knew it was there? Meet Übercorp. Since its formation in 1887 by a German immigrant here in Richmond, VA, Übercorp has been a powerful force in the pharmaceutical world.

And yet, despite its long history – and forays into myriad side ventures – Übercorp has been off the radar for the general public. You may have been using their products for years without even realizing it, unless you noticed their little octopus logo.

Now however, thanks to the work of curator Noah Scalin and over 30 collectors of Übercorp memorabilia, Gallery5 is pleased to present 130 Years of Übercorp: 1887–2017; the first ever historical survey of this influential corporation. This unprecedented collection of objects – from personal artifacts of company founder Albrecht Über to recent marketing materials & prototypes – presents a fascinating insight into the truly unique work that has been done by Übercorp and the surprisingly long reach of its various tentacles.

“Everyone here at Übercorp is so happy for the public to finally get a greater insight into our wonderful company and the great things it’s done for Richmond and the world!” Übercorp’s press representative Randall Quarterlock expressed the company’s enthusiasm about the show. “After the regretful destruction of our own archives a few years ago, we never imagined a show like this would be possible!”

The exhibition features items from the collections of notable Richmonders as well as Übercorp fans from around the world including: Kelly Alder, Dale Brumfield, Nico Cathcart, Phil Cheney, Eric Collins, Madonna Dersch, Julie Elkins, Freehand Profit, Parker Galore, Mike & Lindsay Garrett, Nicole Gomez, Ed Harrington, Thomas Heinrichs, Adam Juresko, Meena Khalili & Brent Dedas, Bizhan Khodabandeh, Philip Kightlinger, Diane Leonard, Coryndon Luxmoore, Tom Megginson, Liana Mensch, Mikemetic, Sam Moll, Leah Palmer Preiss, Denton Pretorius, Adarsh Ramakrishnan, Keith M. Ramsey, Oura Sananikone, Savage Apparel Co., Morgan Sawyer, Ross Trimmer, Betsy VanDeusen, Marc Van Gurp, Liam Ward, Steven Warrick.

The show opens on First Friday, September 1 and will feature musical performances by Maximum Zero, Flashlight Tag, and League of Space Pirates – which was inspired by one of Übercorp’s most unusual creations.

Learn more here.