For decades, Eric White has vividly interpreted pop-culture with oil paint. No matter the size of the canvas, the scenes are drenchingly submersible, a sort of play within a play where viewers can watch a scene evolve just beyond their vantage point. It’s been four years since White’s last solo show, Local Programming, and his newest works at Grimm Gallery in NYC present not only a nation at a crossroads but a time when ideas of collective visions and culture seem to be in flux and possibly in question. A master at work, these images are potent. —Evan Pricco
As the gallery notes, "White has explored media throughout his career, incorporating screens into his work over the past decade to examine ideas of participation and voyeurism, bringing the viewer into the frame of the painting and reflecting back the gaze of the artist. While Local Programming looks back to a nostalgic heyday of television, when our attention was less divided across multiple screens, the exhibition examines contemporary debates around overconsumption and the impact of media on free thought and democracy.
"Responding to and lampooning our collective media obsession and the churn of content perpetually driven toward the consumer, White’s Local Programming challenges what the agenda behind entertainment really is, who the gatekeepers are, and what lies beyond the commercialized façade of the television screen. The Woman finds herself on a spiritual journey, engaging in mystical practices and rituals to seek truth in the pages of the TV Guide. Delusional or awakened, she finds comfort and stability in the mundane, and profundity in pop culture."
