In a year when art sales floundered and galleries around the world quietly scaled back their operations, the announcement from New York’s The Hole, that they were celebrating their 10th anniversary by opening a second gallery, felt like a collective sign of hope. To launch their new space, The Hole chose the same artist whose 2020 show was cut short by the pandemic: Eric Shaw. The latest exhibition, “Pure Mode,” is a sensorial feast of vivid colors and energizing patterns of 10 paintings that the artist made in the fall and winter of the pandemic.

While Los Angeles gallerygoers might not be starved for sunshine, New Yorkers have been in serious need of the brightness and excitement Shaw has provided. The new paintings are vibrating with colors and abstractions of geometric and tubular shapes. As with most of our experiences of late, the exhibition includes the standard QR code, which doesn’t take the visitor to a press release and checklist, but surprisingly opens to a nearly four-hour Spotify playlist of New Age and contemporary music the artist listens to in his studio. The auditory element takes Shaw’s paintings to a new level, bouncing the eye from color to color and shape to shape.

Eric Shaw, Brain Reality, 2021, acrylic on canvas
30 x 24 inches.

A departure from the regimented timeslots we’ve all been forced to abide by over the last year, the lengthy playlist is a welcoming, unexpected invitation to actually contemplate the art. Brain Reality (2021), a gem of the show, was a perfect opportunity to do just that. One of the smallest works, Brain Reality resembles an abstract, cartoonish interpretation of neurons firing under a pair of blue headphones. The colors and music take your eye on a journey across the densely packed canvas. Known to draw first on an app, then translate the image onto the canvas, there is an edgy, digital element to Shaw’s work.

Eric Shaw, I Examine My Surroundings, 2020, acrylic on canvas
76 x 84 inches.

Though most of the paintings seem large, they are modest for Shaw, made to fit The Hole’s new space. Compared to his larger paintings that create an atmospheric sense of energy with the multitude of shapes and colors, the smaller paintings pull the eye into a self-contained burst of energy. Those works that are on the larger size, like the 76 x 84”, I Examine My Surroundings (2020) are packed with movement in the rhythmically pulsating shapes.

While not as large as the original, sprawling location on Bowery, The Hole’s new Tribeca home is far from petite. Its 1,800 square feet provide ample breathing room for Shaw’s paintings. It has also housed great art and creativity before as the former studio of Scottish artist Peter Doig. There’s no doubt The Hole will continue this art historical legacy, and based on the line forming out the door just minutes after Shaw’s show opened, it seems New Yorkers agree.

All images courtesy of The Hole NYC.