“Blue Line” Acrylic on canvas 40" x 30" — **“Blue Line”** Acrylic on canvas 40" x 30"

Lois Lambert Gallery is pleased to present Erica Entrop’s “I, Voyeur”

“I, Voyeur” is based on a series of images that Entrop has captured while riding through public transportation in Los Angeles. As a commuter, she would spend two to three hours a day on the bus or train and even longer waiting for their arrival. As Entrop rode with the same people day after day, she observed those people going to the same places. She never spoke or engaged with them. Entrop explains, “All of us are on our own tracks, playing out individual narratives. I was drawn to certain people in this travel routine that seemed almost like characters in a play, always having some element that was interesting or different about them. I started taking their pictures, secretly capturing moments from their lives.”

Entrop is fascinated by the routines that make up daily life and the fragility of those routines; long dull moment broken by someone speaking too loudly; private conversations overheard; quick gazes or direct stares are either returned or avoided. Each interruption freezes the perpetual nature of routine, very much like a photograph brings to a sudden halt the moment captured. It is in the instances where patterns are disrupted that Erica can really see what is there, instead of what is always assumed to be there. Every piece is based on a photograph taken of the commuters present along Entrop’s travels. The ubiquity of cellphones allows her to freely capture their images. The freedom in documenting her surroundings is special to the metro. She explains, “Even if I do get caught, the rule of keeping to yourself in public transportation is so embedded in us, that very few people are willing to be confrontational over it.”

“Expo Line” Acrylic on canvas 40" x 30" — **“Expo Line”** Acrylic on canvas 40" x 30"

For the artist, the feeling is one of intrusion, of voyeurism. The viewer is being asked to look at and engage with these seemingly mundane moments rather than the social norm of casting a passing glance. In many cases, there is an individual that is recognizing the audience, further dissolving the fourth wall and making the viewer a participant in this ordinary, but layered and textured moment of life. “Red Line”, Acrylic on canvas, 40” x 30” “Expo Line”, Acrylic on canvas, 40” x 30”

Growing up in Roswell, New Mexico, Erica was inspired by New Mexican artist Peter Hurd. His portraiture was in many homes and all of the public buildings. Entrop’s interest in capturing the individual and daily life stems from his work.

Erica Entrop is a graduate of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico and has shown in group and solo exhibitions all over the country. Erica was a participant in the Land Arts of the American West Program in 2009. She currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.