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Tommy White's Third Solo Show at Harris Lieberman Features Darkened Palette and Abstract Shift

exhibition · 2026-04-22

Tommy White presented his third solo exhibition at Harris Lieberman from August 31 to October 2, 2010, located at 89 Vandam Street in New York City. The show included ten paintings and fifteen small sculptures, marking a departure from his previous work with a drastically darkened color scheme and reduced figuration. Only two paintings featured overtly representational elements, including "Worried" (2010) depicting a trussed-up torso and "Love Comes" (2010) showing splayed stocking-clad legs. The exhibition's most notable piece, "Pretty When You Smile" (2010), combined subtle colors with text elements against a pale pink background. White's sculptures, displayed on a low platform, served primarily as studies for paintings rather than standalone works. The artist's characteristic themes of stripes, feet, and fecal matter appeared throughout, though with less punk defiance than previous exhibitions. His earlier vibrant palette of golden yellows and rich reds was replaced by somber tones, while narrative elements became more matter-of-fact than tantalizingly suggestive.

Key facts

  • Tommy White's third solo show at Harris Lieberman ran from August 31 to October 2, 2010
  • The exhibition featured ten paintings and fifteen small sculptures
  • Only two paintings contained overt figuration: "Worried" (2010) and "Love Comes" (2010)
  • "Pretty When You Smile" (2010) incorporated text with the phrase "so pretty when you smile"
  • The show marked a shift toward abstraction and a darkened color palette
  • Sculptures included plaster verticals clothed in leather patches, lace, and a jock-strap
  • Previous exhibitions featured brilliant colors and surrealistically distorted figures
  • The gallery was located at 89 Vandam Street, between Greenwich and Hudson in New York City

Entities

Artists

  • Tommy White

Institutions

  • Harris Lieberman
  • artcritical

Locations

  • New York City
  • United States
  • 89 Vandam Street
  • Greenwich
  • Hudson

Sources