GREG ITO AT ROCKEFELLER CENTER
NEW YORK, NY - Rockefeller Center and Art Production Fund welcome Los Angeles-based artist Greg Ito to New York City for a vibrant new summer exhibition. The Enlightenment is part of the ongoing Art in Focus program, now in its seventh year, presented at Rockefeller Center in partnership with Art Production Fund. Free and open to the public, the exhibition transforms one of New York’s most well-known landmarks into an immersive journey filled with rich symbolism and dreamlike motifs. On view from June 2 - August 29, audiences are invited to explore key pillars of Ito’s practice (painting, sculpture, installation and film) in this ambitious exhibition.
As part of the exhibition, on Thursday, June 26 from 2-5PM, Ito and Art Production Fund will also host a free and public children’s interactive art-making workshop on site at Rockefeller Center as part of the Art Sundae program. This Art Sundae workshop is generously supported by Leatherology.
The Enlightenment showcases Ito’s signature use of vivid color, recurring motifs, and storytelling across multiple mediums celebrating themes of growth, renewal, and transformation. This marks the first time Ito will exhibit both his painting and photographic work side by side in a public space of this scale.
The vitrine spaces of 45 Rockefeller Plaza are activated with three-dimensional installations that combine painting and sculpture. The vitrines become sculptural dioramas of interior spaces, functioning as portals and echoing themes of regeneration and resilience. Each vitrine depicts a vibrant scene, where window motifs and sculptural props are intertwined to create a layered emotional landscape. The progression of day to twilight will anchor the rhythm of the story, framed by windows within blooming interiors. Ito’s work employs a rich visual language - flames, blooming flowers, the sun, and other symbols - to illuminate the interconnected cycles of the natural world and human experience.
Beneath the 45 Rockefeller Center lobby, on the Rink Llevel, a panoramic vinyl installation unfolds a narrative that brings together Ito’s painting and photography for the first time. Each photograph captures a meticulously staged moment, inviting viewers to follow a transformative journey starring the artist himself, toward enlightenment. The core pillars of Ito’s practice - painting, sculpture, installation, and film - remain the foundation of his visual language, while photography acts as the connective tissue, uniting these elements into a single, immersive experience. Spanning 125 feet, the installation draws inspiration from New York’s rich history of theater and Los Angeles’ legacy of cinema.
Imagery from Ito’s paintings will also appear across the Center in several public locations (30 Rockefeller Plaza, 10 Rockefeller Plaza, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, and more). The large-scale vinyl imagery reflects Ito’s cinematic influences and personal mythology: sunsets, doorways, flames, and magical landscapes, with each piece acting as a visual chapter in a larger story of transformation.
“Having my work showcased at Rockefeller Center is an extraordinary honor. It offers the opportunity to bring my family’s California story into conversation with the layered histories and experiences that shape New York. Through my collaborations with Art Production Fund, I’ve been able to push the boundaries of my practice, introducing new forms of storytelling like the photographic series in the concourse, which bridges the worlds of New York theatre and LA cinema. With this presentation I invite viewers on a journey, one that mirrors the complex, universal path we all navigate, marked by challenges, overcoming, and renewal.” - GREG ITO
“This is Ito’s largest exhibition in New York to date. As an organization operating in both Los Angeles and New York, we are thrilled to bring New Yorkers and its visitors an opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of LA-based artist Greg Ito. Drawing inspiration from his home city and beyond, the dialogue between the cities and the symbolism on view in Greg’s work, is simultaneously reflective and transportive.” – CASEY FREMONT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ART PRODUCTION FUND
"Rockefeller Center has long been a home for public art that inspires, provokes, and connects people from all walks of life. We’re proud to continue that legacy by presenting Greg Ito’s vibrant and deeply expressive work, providing a platform where his unique style can reach a new generation of artists and art lovers alike," - EB KELLY, SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR, TISHMAN SPEYER AND HEAD OF ROCKEFELLER CENTER
GREG ITO (b. 1987, Los Angeles, CA) earned his BFA from San Francisco Art Institute. His work has been exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions including at Institute of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA; Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA; Maki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan; Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA; SPURS Gallery, Beijing, China; Lyles and King, New York, NY; Jeffrey Deitch, New York; NY and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA), San Francisco, CA. Ito’s work is included in the permanent collections of public institutions including the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA; Institute of Contemporary Art Miami (ICA Miami); K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong; and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Ito lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
ART IN FOCUS is a multidisciplinary program that showcases installations by contemporary artists inspired by the New York City landscape and contemporary life. Artists featured in the series will have their work displayed in a number of prominent and unexpected public locations throughout Rockefeller Center. Art in Focus is presented in partnership with Rockefeller Center and Art Production Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to commissioning and producing ambitious public art projects, reaching new audiences, and expanding awareness through contemporary art. Past Art in Focus artists include Joana Avillez, Hein Koh, Portia Munson, LaKela Brown, Lucy Sparrow, Angelica Hicks, Vanessa German, Ryan Flores, Genevieve Gaignard, Oliver Jeffers, Hiba Schahbaz, Sanford Biggers, Hilary Pecis, Maurice Harris, Lisa Congdon, Max Colby, Hugo McCloud, Emily Mullin, Arghavan Khosravi, Lorraine Nam, Joel Gaitan, Basil Kincaid, Dominique Fung, Debbie Lawson, Melissa Joseph, Joel Mesler, Shantell Martin, Jake Clark, and Will Cotton.
ROCKEFELLER CENTER is a global icon, built nearly a century ago by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. as a “city within the city.” Today, under the stewardship of owner and operator Tishman Speyer, its collection of art deco buildings surrounding the world-renowned plaza and Rink together comprise the city’s most dynamic destination to work, play, dine, and shop. The Center has embarked on a revitalization to deepen the unparalleled sense of New York City soul on campus, including a reimagination of the Rink Level completed in 2022, and the introduction of The Beam visitor experience at the Top of the Rock observation deck in 2023. New Yorkers and visitors to the Center enjoy art, shopping, dining, leisure, and entertainment experiences from the city’s brightest and most creative talents. For more information, visit rockefellercenter.com.
ART PRODUCTION FUND is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to commissioning and producing ambitious public art projects, reaching new audiences and expanding awareness through contemporary art. Past projects include: Elmgreen & Dragset,“Prada Marfa,” Valentine, TX, Ugo Rondinone, “Seven Magic Mountains,” Las Vegas, Jeff Koons, “Seated Ballerina,” Rockefeller Plaza, NYC, Zoe Buckman, “CHAMP,” LA; Raul de Nieves “When I Look In To Your Eyes I See the Sun,” Miami; Nancy Baker Cahill “Liberty Bell”, multiple cities; Sanford Biggers “Oracle”, Rockefeller Center, NY; Lucy Sparrow “Tampa Fresh Foods'', Tampa, FL. Derrick Adams “Funtime Unicorns”, Rockefeller Center, NY, Sanford Biggers “Oracle”, Hammer Museum. www.artproductionfund.org
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