{"id":5207,"date":"2016-09-16T17:49:43","date_gmt":"2016-09-16T21:49:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/?p=5207"},"modified":"2016-09-16T21:35:32","modified_gmt":"2016-09-17T01:35:32","slug":"im-having-a-dialogue-with-the-universe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/content\/collage-exhibitions\/im-having-a-dialogue-with-the-universe\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m Having a Dialogue with the Universe…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"wayne-white-im-having-a-dialogue\"<\/p>\n

Wayne White: “I’m Having a Dialogue with the Universe and You’re Just Sitting There”
\n8 September-8 October 2016<\/h2>\n

“I\u2019m Having a Dialogue with the Universe and You’re Just Sitting There” is Wayne White\u2019s most ambitious project to date with Joshua Liner Gallery, featuring all aspects of the artist\u2019s multidisciplinary practice: including kinetic sculptures, murals, work on paper, a wallpaper installation, and White\u2019s signature word paintings on vintage offset lithographs. From puppeteer, to painter, illustrator, sculptor, wordsmith\u2014and even typographic artist\u2014the enormous breadth of White\u2019s creative output is a fruitful product of a career spanning over 35 years.<\/p>\n

For this body of work, White deconstructs themes surrounding vanity, hubris, and the inflated egos of artists,\u00a0as he explains, \u201cI\u2019m drawn to the humour of vanity. The title of the show is an artist\u2019s private, nasty thoughts about how he or she is superior to the public and is so worthy of praise and attention. It\u2019s my way of popping bubbles and kicking pedestals.\u201d Humour in particular is among the strongest touchstones of White\u2019s work, explored throughout the entirety of his practice, and most discernibly in his word painting series: painted, often profane epithets, on vintage offset lithographs of kitschy landscapes. Cleverly wry phrases such as \u201cTHOSE GUYS ARE PUSSIES,\u201d and \u201cHAD IT GOIN ON BUT LOST IT THEN GOT IT BACK THEN FUCKED UP AND LOST IT,\u201d interrupt the scenery,\u00a0oftentimes integrated within the formal compositions of the offset prints.<\/p>\n

White pays special attention to the structure of each letterform in the word paintings, creating dynamic optical\u00a0interactions. In WE WERE IN AWE OF HIS WORK BUT HE WAS A GIANT ASSHOLE<\/em>, the painted words protrude\u00a0from a covered bridge, like pins in a pincushion, their perspectives shifting and turning around the framework.\u00a0This arrangement of forms requires careful reading, as letters transform from clearly legible words into objects\u00a0with vanishing points and buoyancy…Meanwhile, F.U. MONEY<\/em> elicits Dadaist influences with its mixing of letterforms and unorthodox punctuation, superimposed on a Parisian scene at dusk.<\/p>\n

\"wayne-white-at-joshua-liner-gallery-installation-view-2\"<\/p>\n

Adding to the Surrealist undertones, and echoing the walls of Peggy Guggenheim\u2019s art collection, the installation\u00a0of the works extends from the gallery walls, held upright by oversized plywood hands. Other works engage\u00a0with the artist\u2019s nostalgia for his youth, and Southern heritage. In Covered Wagon<\/em>, White paints a pre-industrial American carriage, spiraling into the center of a found lithograph, while a series of works on paper explore various commercial signage from mid-century America.<\/p>\n

White\u2019s extensive career as an artist, designer, and art director has long included collaborative projects
\nextending as far back as his first professional ventures as a production designer in the 1980s. The artist\u2019s most\u00a0recent collaborative work\u2014a wallpaper installation with Brooklyn-based Flavor Paper\u2014is installed in the\u00a0Gallery. Entitled Waynetopia<\/em>, the wallpaper design is adapted from a mural in the artist\u2019s dining room at his home in Los Angeles. Inspired by 19th century French scenic wallpaper, the design features a fantastical landscape with tropical foliage, mountains, majestic skies, and White\u2019s trademark painted words.<\/p>\n

\"wayne-white-at-joshua-liner-gallery-installation-view-3\"<\/p>\n

Born in 1957 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Wayne White currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California.\u00a0Many are familiar with White\u2019s work from the iconic 1980s television show \u201cPee-wee\u2019s Playhouse,\u201d earning\u00a0the artist three Emmy Awards for production design. White is also noted for his work on music videos for Peter\u00a0Gabriel\u2019s “Big Time” and The Smashing Pumpkins\u2019 “Tonight, Tonight”, and more recently, his extensive career was\u00a0chronicled in the 2012 feature-length documentary Beauty is Embarrassing<\/em>, directed by Neil Berkeley. In 2013, following the success of the documentary, White presented “You\u2019re Supposed to Act All Impressed”, a TED Talk\u00a0on his work and career as a fine artist. The artist\u2019s work is included in numerous public collections including The\u00a0New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York; The Detroit Institute of the Arts, Detroit, Michigan; Frederick R.\u00a0Weisman Art Foundation, Los Angeles; and the American Greetings Corporation Collection, Cleveland, Ohio.<\/p>\n

(adapted from the gallery’s press materials)<\/p>\n

\n

INFORMATION<\/h3>\n

Joshua Liner Gallery<\/strong>
\n540 West 28th Street
\nNew York, New York 10001 USA
\n(212) 244-7415<\/p>\n

Hours:<\/strong>
\nTuesday-Saturday, 11AM-6PM<\/p>\n

MAP<\/a> | WEBSITE<\/a>\u00a0| FACEBOOK<\/a><\/p>\n

Image: (top)<\/strong>
\nI\u2019M HAVING A DIALOGUE WITH THE UNIVERSE AND YOU\u2019RE JUST SITTING THERE<\/em>
\nby Wayne White
\n26″x50″
\nacrylic on offset lithograph
\n2016
\nCourtesy of Joshua Liner Gallery, New York<\/p>\n

Image: (centre)<\/strong>
\nInstallation view of “I’m Having a Dialogue with the Universe and You’re Just Sitting There”
\nby Wayne White
\nCourtesy of Joshua Liner Gallery, New York<\/p>\n

Image: (bottom)<\/strong>
\nInstallation view of “I’m Having a Dialogue with the Universe and You’re Just Sitting There”
\nby Wayne White
\nCourtesy of Joshua Liner Gallery, New York<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wayne White: “I’m Having a Dialogue with the Universe and You’re Just Sitting There” 8 September-8 October 2016 “I\u2019m Having a Dialogue with the Universe and You’re Just Sitting There” is Wayne White\u2019s most ambitious project to date with Joshua…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5208,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/wayne-white-im-having-a-dialogue.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2QTD7-1lZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16993,"url":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/content\/calls-for-artists\/call-to-artists-more-than-meets-the-eye\/","url_meta":{"origin":5207,"position":0},"title":"Call to Artists: More Than Meets the Eye","author":"Christopher Byrne","date":"14 July 2025","format":"gallery","excerpt":"graphic by Carol Priamo. Courtesy of the artist and Collage Artists of America. CALL TO ARTISTS (PAID ADVERTISEMENT) More Than Meets the Eye: In-Person and Virtual Online Juried Show at White's Gallery in Montrose, California, USA andOnline at\u00a0Collage Artists of America and Online Juried Shows20 September-25 October 2025 Deadline for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Calls for Artists"","block_context":{"text":"Calls for Artists","link":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/category\/content\/calls-for-artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/carol-priamo-more-than-meets-the-eye-web.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/carol-priamo-more-than-meets-the-eye-web.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/carol-priamo-more-than-meets-the-eye-web.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/carol-priamo-more-than-meets-the-eye-web.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15723,"url":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/content\/collage-exhibitions\/collage-in-dialogue\/","url_meta":{"origin":5207,"position":1},"title":"Collage in Dialogue","author":"Christopher Byrne","date":"27 August 2024","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Fish Fry by Romare Bearden (1911-1988)29.875\"x39.875\"; collage of various papers on paper board; 1967. signed; \u00a9 Romare Bearden Foundation \/ Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY COLLAGE ON VIEW Romare Bearden & Nancy Grossman: Collage in Dialogue at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Exhibitions"","block_context":{"text":"Exhibitions","link":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/category\/content\/collage-exhibitions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/romare-bearden-fish-fry.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/romare-bearden-fish-fry.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/romare-bearden-fish-fry.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/romare-bearden-fish-fry.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6643,"url":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/content\/collage-exhibitions\/dialogue-with-resonance\/","url_meta":{"origin":5207,"position":2},"title":"Dialogue with Resonance","author":"Christopher Byrne","date":"23 February 2018","format":"gallery","excerpt":"COLLAGE ON VIEW John M. Miller: \"Dialogue with Resonance\" at Julian Scott Memorial Gallery Johnson State College in Johnson, Vermont, USA 12 March-6 April 2018 John M. Miller is a Professor of Fine Arts at Johnson State College. Miller has produced a series of photo-collages, combines and grids using images\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Exhibitions"","block_context":{"text":"Exhibitions","link":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/category\/content\/collage-exhibitions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/john-m-miller-collage.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/john-m-miller-collage.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/john-m-miller-collage.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/john-m-miller-collage.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9562,"url":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/content\/articles\/in-dialogue-with-art-history\/","url_meta":{"origin":5207,"position":3},"title":"In Dialogue with Art History","author":"Christopher Byrne","date":"1 April 2020","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Botanique 3 by Koji Nagai Courtesy of the artist. 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A different composition features one of Michaelangelo\u2019s ignudi from the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/category\/content\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/Koji-Nagai-BOTANIQUE3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/Koji-Nagai-BOTANIQUE3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/Koji-Nagai-BOTANIQUE3.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/Koji-Nagai-BOTANIQUE3.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17961,"url":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/content\/collage-exhibitions\/frammenti-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":5207,"position":4},"title":"Frammenti","author":"Seth Ter Haar","date":"4 March 2026","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Universal Prejudice by Silvia Beltrami55.5\"x85\"; collage and paper on wood. 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