This existential vacuum is the psychological landscape that Gross presents in Future Tense (2014). óA lengthy parade of characters lost in their cell phones, iPads and computers find themselves in worlds of neon-lit supermarkets, billboard infested metropolises, and naturalistic countryside panoramas. Most of his characters appear bored and distracted. His work exposes the result of corporate-dictated mass culture and our inability to be present and interact with the real world. Alex Gross' paintings remind us, that it is impossible to escape consumerism's domination.