Greg Ito embraces a graphic visual style to create cinematic paintings and installations that address themes of time, love, loss, hope, and tragedy. A gifted storyteller, the artist incorporates personal and family narratives into his dense compositions, such as his grandparents’ forced relocation to concentration camps during World War II. During their internment at the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona, their romance blossomed, offering light during dark days, a recurring motif.
Ito’s work imagines dream-like worlds inspired by his hometown of Los Angeles and opens portals to alternate timelines where daily life dilates into fantasy. The artist draws from an ever-expanding lexicon of symbols and imagery ranging from burning candles, keyholes, and windows, to snakes, moons, and suns. Ito uses a distinct palette of off-nature colors to depict scenes of wildfires, disaster, and destruction, that simultaneously asserts an optimistic outlook in uncertain times as he fills his work with icons of new life—growing vines, flittering butterflies, and transcendent skies.
Greg Ito (b. 1987, Los Angeles, CA) embraces a graphic visual style to create cinematic paintings and installations that address themes of time, love, loss, hope, and tragedy. Ito earned his BFA from San Francisco Art Institute in 2008. His work has been exhibited widely in group and solo exhibitions including Maki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan; Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA; Division Gallery, Montreal, QC; Arsenal Contemporary, Toronto, ON; Jeffrey Deitch New York, NY; Andrew Rafacz Gallery, Chicago, IL; Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles, CA; Et al, San Francisco, CA; and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts – YBCA, San Francisco, CA. A forthcoming solo exhibition at Anat Ebgi Los Angeles will open Fall 2021. Ito lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
EXHIBITIONS
The Arrival of Spring, Art Basel Hong Kong, May 19 – 23, 2021
Good Company: Pt. 1, December 5, 2020 – March 6, 2021
Frieze Los Angeles, February 13 – 16, 2020
Greg Ito
- 1987
- Born in Los Angeles, CA
- Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA
Education
- 2008
- BFA, San Francisco Art Institute - SFAI
Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions
- 2022
- Solo Exhibition, ICA San Diego, San Diego, CA (forthcoming)
- 2021
- Apparition, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA.
- 2019
- Enchantment, Division Gallery, Montreal, QC.
- Lock and Key, Smart Objects, Los Angeles, CA. (two person w/ Michael Stasis)
- The Garden, Penske Projects, Los Angeles, CA.
- A Swamp Tale, No Place Gallery, Columbus, OH.
- One Way Out, The Drake Hotel, Toronto, ON.
- Enchantment, Arsenal Contemporary, Toronto, ON.
- 2018
- Time Traveller, Public Lands, Sacramento, CA.
- Hallowed Ground, ArtCubed, Los Angeles, CA.
- Sun Sprawl (w/ Mario Ayala), Club Pro, Los Angeles, CA.
- 2017
- Lullaby, Andrew Rafacz Gallery, Chicago, IL.
- 2016
- Soothsayer, Steve Turner, Los Angeles, CA.
- 2015
- THE ORDER OF SHADOWBOXING (w/ Alex Ito), Et al., San Francisco, CA.
- AFTER GRUEN (w/ Alex Ito), S-A-D-E, Los Angeles, CA.
- 2014
- CHILDREN (w/ Chris Lux), Mission Comics, San Francisco, CA.
- Heavy Withdrawals, City Limits, Oakland, CA.
- Something Other Than, (w/ Jonah Susskind) - The Hills Esthetic Center, Chicago, IL.
- 2013
- and when you thought it would last forever..., The Popular Workshop, San Francisco, CA.
- There is No Telling What..., (w/ Carey Lin), Truesilver Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
- 2012
- Moonstruck, Eleanor Harwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
- 2011
- Horizon’s Passing, Water McBeer Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
- Point of Vision, Gallery Hijinks, San Francisco, CA.
- Story of the Time Tellers, Free Gold Watch, San Francisco, CA.
- 2010
- The Path to Dyad (w/ Korakrit Arunanondchai), Kokoro Studio, San Francisco, CA.
- 2008
- At Lands’ End, (w/ Christian Ebert), The Klimm Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Group Exhibitions
- 2022
- Group Exhibition, Commune, Tokyo. (forthcoming)
- 2020
- L.A. Views, Maki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- Good Company: Pt. 1, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
- Group Exhibition, Patel Gallery, Toronto, ON.
- 2019
- The Passenger, Klowden Mann, Los Angeles, CA
- Art Toronto, with Galerie Division, Montreal, QC.
- Sanctuary, Fused Space, San Francisco, CA.
- Biophilia, Maake Magazine, Yucca Valley, CA.
- Temporary Resting Place, Three Four Three Four, New York, NY.
- 2018
- The Private Collection of Water McBeer, Jeffery Deitch, New York, NY.
- Divided Brain (group), Lava Projects, Los Angeles, CA.
- Innocence, Super Dutchess, New York, NY.
- Note G, Chicago Manual of Style, Chicago, IL.
- Sun Kissed Chokehold, Y53, Los Angeles, CA.
- 2017
- Broken Language, Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles, CA.
- EXPAT, R/SF, San Francisco, CA.
- Made in San Francisco, Romer Young, San Francisco, CA.
- 2016
- It Started With A Rose, 315 Gallery, Brooklyn, NY. Curated by Cecilia Salama.
- Summer Fling: The Barn Show, Johannes Vogt, East Hampton, NY.
- 8) Lauren Elder, Greg Ito, Kara Joslyn, SPF15, San Diego, CA.
- Over and Under (w/ Adam Cruces and Louisa Gagliardi), MON CHÉRI, Brussels, Belgium.
- 2015
- Time Flies Like A Banana (w/ Ron Ewert & Josh Reames), Johannes Vogt, New York, NY.
- Casual Friday, VACANCY, Los Angeles, CA.
- PRTY PPL, Circuit 12, Dallas, TX. Curated by Josh Reames.
- 2014
- Effeminaries, Western Exhibitions, Chicago, IL. Curated by Matt Morris.
- BAN7, YBCA - Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA.
- Battery Vol. III - The Battery, San Francisco, CA.
- 2013
- Another APP Store, Sol, Sacramento, CA.
- 2012
- New World, New Sequence, YBCA - Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA.
- Ancient-Future-Super-Natural, Ictus Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
- Nothing is True, Nothing is Untrue, Sherwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
- 2011
- Seven years of MoPA, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO.
- Bay Area Currents, Pro Arts, Oakland, CA.
- Linear Empires, White Walls, San Francisco, CA.
- 2010
- Mountain’s Folding, Mountain Fold, New York, NY.
- So Much is Burning, Heist Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
- 2009
- MoPA, The Lab, San Francisco, CA.
- Introductions, Root Division, San Francisco, CA.
- 4th National Juried Exhibition, Axis Gallery, Sacramento, CA.
- Joyride - BFF09, San Francisco, CA.
- When Times Converge, Empire Seven Studios, San Jose, CA.
- 2008
- We, Oakland, CA
- Architects of the Unknown, San Francisco, CA.
- Ways and Means, San Francisco, CA.
- 2007
- Camera 1 Camera 2, The Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
- International Karaoke, San Francisco, CA.
Fairs
- 2021
- Art Basel Hong King, with Anat Ebgi, Hong Kong, China (forthcoming)
- 2020
- Frieze Los Angeles, with Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA.
- 2019
- Art Toronto, with Galerie Division, Canada.
- NADA, with Galerie Division, Canada.
- FOG Design+Art w/ Park Life, San Francisco, CA.
- 2018
- ALAC w/ Club Pro, Los Angeles, CA.
- Material Art Fair w/ R/SF, San Francisco, CA.
Selected Press
- 2021
- Lew, Agnes. "Agnes Lew Interviews AAPI Artist Greg Ito." Reach Further/East West Bank. June 3, 2021. (Link)
- Nauman, Nicholas. "Artist Greg Ito and gallerist Anat Ebgi on family, collaboration, and their ambitious Hong Kong plans." ArtBasel.com. May 2021 (Link)
- Hill-choi, Lee. "Art Basel Hong Kong: everything you need to know about Asia’s largest art fair." South China Morning Press. 19 May 2021. (Link)
- Bailey, Stephanie. "Art Basel Hong Kong: Artist Highlights." Ocula. 12 May 2021 (Link)
- 2020
- Ito, Greg. "The Seer." LALA Magazine. Summer 2020. [Print] (Link)
- Preston Zappas, Lindsay. "Art Insider: Artist sets up sign-making stations at LA protests." KCRW. June 9, 2020. (Link)
- Voon, Claire. "7 Artists on Creating New Work during Quarantine." Artsy. May 5, 2020. (Link)
- Freeman, Nate. "Frieze Los Angeles Opens With Big Sales to Mega-Celebrities and Hollywood Muscle Alike." artnet. February 14, 2020. (Link)
- Reizman, Renée. "This Year, Frieze Los Angeles Feels Grand, Celebratory, and Actually Kind of Fun." Hyperallergic. February 14, 2020. (Link)
- Sutton, Benjamin. "The Ten Best Booths at Frieze Los Angeles." Artsy. February 14, 2020. (Link)
- 2019
- Boddington, Ruby. "Greg Ito’s meticulous portfolio of paintings explores 'time, love, loss, hope, and tragedy'," It's Nice That. (Link)
- Ghassemitari, Shawn. "All the Interesting Things Happen at the Transitions," Amadeus. (Link)
- Fischer, Jim. "Arts Preview: Greg Ito: ‘A Swamp Tale’," Columbus Alive. (Link)
- 2018
- Kelley, Sonaiya. "When artist Greg Ito collaborates with ‘Top Chef’s’ Richard Blais, you get ArtxFood," Los Angeles Times. (Link)
- 2017
- Anderson, Alex. "Greg Ito Offers a Pictoral Language for our Dreams," Artslant. (Link)
Awards/Residencies
- 2019
- The Macedonia Institute Residency, Hudson Valley, NY. (forthcoming)
- 2013
- LOOP Arts Award, Oakland, CA.
- Truesilver Residency, San Francisco, CA.
- 2011
- SECA Honorary Committee Member, San Francisco, CA.
Collections
- The Fidelity Collection
- Hallmark Art Collection
Acrylic on canvas over panel 48 x 84 inches / 121.9 x 213.4 cm
Acrylic on canvas over panel 48 x 84 inches / 121.9 x 213.4 cm
Detail
Detail
Acrylic on canvas over panel 72 inches diameter / 182.9 cm
Detail
Detail
Acrylic on canvas over panel 36 x 96 inches / 91.4 x 243.8 cm
Acrylic on canvas over panel 60 x 38 inches / 152.4 x 96.5 cm
Acrylic on canvas over panel 60 x 40 inches / 152.4 x 101.6 cm
Acrylic on canvas over panel Diameter 48 inches / 121.9 cm
Acrylic on canvas Diameter 34 inches / 86.4 cm
Acrylic on canvas 34 x 25 inches / 86.4 x 63.5 cm
Acrylic on canvas 24 x 20 inches / 61 x 50.8 cm
Acrylic on canvas 72 x 47.5 inches / 182.9 x 120.7 cm
Acrylic on canvas 74 x 48 inches / 188 x 121.9 cm
Acrylic on canvas 47 inches / 119.4 cm (diameter)
Acrylic on canvas 40 x 30 inches / 101.6 x 76.2 cm
Acrylic on canvas, 40 x 30 inches / 101.6 x 76.2 cm
Galerie Division, Toronto, Installation view
Galerie Division, Toronto, Installation view
Galerie Division, Toronto, Installation view
Galerie Division, Toronto, Installation view
Galerie Division, Toronto, Installation view
Galerie Division, Toronto, Installation view
BIOGRAPHY
Greg Ito embraces a graphic visual style to create cinematic paintings and installations that address themes of time, love, loss, hope, and tragedy. A gifted storyteller, the artist incorporates personal and family narratives into his dense compositions, such as his grandparents’ forced relocation to concentration camps during World War II. During their internment at the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona, their romance blossomed, offering light during dark days, a recurring motif.
Ito’s work imagines dream-like worlds inspired by his hometown of Los Angeles and opens portals to alternate timelines where daily life dilates into fantasy. The artist draws from an ever-expanding lexicon of symbols and imagery ranging from burning candles, keyholes, and windows, to snakes, moons, and suns. Ito uses a distinct palette of off-nature colors to depict scenes of wildfires, disaster, and destruction, that simultaneously asserts an optimistic outlook in uncertain times as he fills his work with icons of new life—growing vines, flittering butterflies, and transcendent skies.
Greg Ito (b. 1987, Los Angeles, CA) embraces a graphic visual style to create cinematic paintings and installations that address themes of time, love, loss, hope, and tragedy. Ito earned his BFA from San Francisco Art Institute in 2008. His work has been exhibited widely in group and solo exhibitions including Maki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan; Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA; Division Gallery, Montreal, QC; Arsenal Contemporary, Toronto, ON; Jeffrey Deitch New York, NY; Andrew Rafacz Gallery, Chicago, IL; Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles, CA; Et al, San Francisco, CA; and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts – YBCA, San Francisco, CA. A forthcoming solo exhibition at Anat Ebgi Los Angeles will open Fall 2021. Ito lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
EXHIBITIONS
The Arrival of Spring, Art Basel Hong Kong, May 19 – 23, 2021
Good Company: Pt. 1, December 5, 2020 – March 6, 2021
Frieze Los Angeles, February 13 – 16, 2020
CV
Greg Ito
- 1987
- Born in Los Angeles, CA
- Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA
Education
- 2008
- BFA, San Francisco Art Institute - SFAI
Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions
- 2022
- Solo Exhibition, ICA San Diego, San Diego, CA (forthcoming)
- 2021
- Apparition, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA.
- 2019
- Enchantment, Division Gallery, Montreal, QC.
- Lock and Key, Smart Objects, Los Angeles, CA. (two person w/ Michael Stasis)
- The Garden, Penske Projects, Los Angeles, CA.
- A Swamp Tale, No Place Gallery, Columbus, OH.
- One Way Out, The Drake Hotel, Toronto, ON.
- Enchantment, Arsenal Contemporary, Toronto, ON.
- 2018
- Time Traveller, Public Lands, Sacramento, CA.
- Hallowed Ground, ArtCubed, Los Angeles, CA.
- Sun Sprawl (w/ Mario Ayala), Club Pro, Los Angeles, CA.
- 2017
- Lullaby, Andrew Rafacz Gallery, Chicago, IL.
- 2016
- Soothsayer, Steve Turner, Los Angeles, CA.
- 2015
- THE ORDER OF SHADOWBOXING (w/ Alex Ito), Et al., San Francisco, CA.
- AFTER GRUEN (w/ Alex Ito), S-A-D-E, Los Angeles, CA.
- 2014
- CHILDREN (w/ Chris Lux), Mission Comics, San Francisco, CA.
- Heavy Withdrawals, City Limits, Oakland, CA.
- Something Other Than, (w/ Jonah Susskind) - The Hills Esthetic Center, Chicago, IL.
- 2013
- and when you thought it would last forever..., The Popular Workshop, San Francisco, CA.
- There is No Telling What..., (w/ Carey Lin), Truesilver Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
- 2012
- Moonstruck, Eleanor Harwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
- 2011
- Horizon’s Passing, Water McBeer Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
- Point of Vision, Gallery Hijinks, San Francisco, CA.
- Story of the Time Tellers, Free Gold Watch, San Francisco, CA.
- 2010
- The Path to Dyad (w/ Korakrit Arunanondchai), Kokoro Studio, San Francisco, CA.
- 2008
- At Lands’ End, (w/ Christian Ebert), The Klimm Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Group Exhibitions
- 2022
- Group Exhibition, Commune, Tokyo. (forthcoming)
- 2020
- L.A. Views, Maki Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
- Good Company: Pt. 1, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
- Group Exhibition, Patel Gallery, Toronto, ON.
- 2019
- The Passenger, Klowden Mann, Los Angeles, CA
- Art Toronto, with Galerie Division, Montreal, QC.
- Sanctuary, Fused Space, San Francisco, CA.
- Biophilia, Maake Magazine, Yucca Valley, CA.
- Temporary Resting Place, Three Four Three Four, New York, NY.
- 2018
- The Private Collection of Water McBeer, Jeffery Deitch, New York, NY.
- Divided Brain (group), Lava Projects, Los Angeles, CA.
- Innocence, Super Dutchess, New York, NY.
- Note G, Chicago Manual of Style, Chicago, IL.
- Sun Kissed Chokehold, Y53, Los Angeles, CA.
- 2017
- Broken Language, Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles, CA.
- EXPAT, R/SF, San Francisco, CA.
- Made in San Francisco, Romer Young, San Francisco, CA.
- 2016
- It Started With A Rose, 315 Gallery, Brooklyn, NY. Curated by Cecilia Salama.
- Summer Fling: The Barn Show, Johannes Vogt, East Hampton, NY.
- 8) Lauren Elder, Greg Ito, Kara Joslyn, SPF15, San Diego, CA.
- Over and Under (w/ Adam Cruces and Louisa Gagliardi), MON CHÉRI, Brussels, Belgium.
- 2015
- Time Flies Like A Banana (w/ Ron Ewert & Josh Reames), Johannes Vogt, New York, NY.
- Casual Friday, VACANCY, Los Angeles, CA.
- PRTY PPL, Circuit 12, Dallas, TX. Curated by Josh Reames.
- 2014
- Effeminaries, Western Exhibitions, Chicago, IL. Curated by Matt Morris.
- BAN7, YBCA - Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA.
- Battery Vol. III - The Battery, San Francisco, CA.
- 2013
- Another APP Store, Sol, Sacramento, CA.
- 2012
- New World, New Sequence, YBCA - Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA.
- Ancient-Future-Super-Natural, Ictus Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
- Nothing is True, Nothing is Untrue, Sherwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
- 2011
- Seven years of MoPA, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO.
- Bay Area Currents, Pro Arts, Oakland, CA.
- Linear Empires, White Walls, San Francisco, CA.
- 2010
- Mountain’s Folding, Mountain Fold, New York, NY.
- So Much is Burning, Heist Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
- 2009
- MoPA, The Lab, San Francisco, CA.
- Introductions, Root Division, San Francisco, CA.
- 4th National Juried Exhibition, Axis Gallery, Sacramento, CA.
- Joyride - BFF09, San Francisco, CA.
- When Times Converge, Empire Seven Studios, San Jose, CA.
- 2008
- We, Oakland, CA
- Architects of the Unknown, San Francisco, CA.
- Ways and Means, San Francisco, CA.
- 2007
- Camera 1 Camera 2, The Luggage Store Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
- International Karaoke, San Francisco, CA.
Fairs
- 2021
- Art Basel Hong King, with Anat Ebgi, Hong Kong, China (forthcoming)
- 2020
- Frieze Los Angeles, with Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA.
- 2019
- Art Toronto, with Galerie Division, Canada.
- NADA, with Galerie Division, Canada.
- FOG Design+Art w/ Park Life, San Francisco, CA.
- 2018
- ALAC w/ Club Pro, Los Angeles, CA.
- Material Art Fair w/ R/SF, San Francisco, CA.
Selected Press
- 2021
- Lew, Agnes. "Agnes Lew Interviews AAPI Artist Greg Ito." Reach Further/East West Bank. June 3, 2021. (Link)
- Nauman, Nicholas. "Artist Greg Ito and gallerist Anat Ebgi on family, collaboration, and their ambitious Hong Kong plans." ArtBasel.com. May 2021 (Link)
- Hill-choi, Lee. "Art Basel Hong Kong: everything you need to know about Asia’s largest art fair." South China Morning Press. 19 May 2021. (Link)
- Bailey, Stephanie. "Art Basel Hong Kong: Artist Highlights." Ocula. 12 May 2021 (Link)
- 2020
- Ito, Greg. "The Seer." LALA Magazine. Summer 2020. [Print] (Link)
- Preston Zappas, Lindsay. "Art Insider: Artist sets up sign-making stations at LA protests." KCRW. June 9, 2020. (Link)
- Voon, Claire. "7 Artists on Creating New Work during Quarantine." Artsy. May 5, 2020. (Link)
- Freeman, Nate. "Frieze Los Angeles Opens With Big Sales to Mega-Celebrities and Hollywood Muscle Alike." artnet. February 14, 2020. (Link)
- Reizman, Renée. "This Year, Frieze Los Angeles Feels Grand, Celebratory, and Actually Kind of Fun." Hyperallergic. February 14, 2020. (Link)
- Sutton, Benjamin. "The Ten Best Booths at Frieze Los Angeles." Artsy. February 14, 2020. (Link)
- 2019
- Boddington, Ruby. "Greg Ito’s meticulous portfolio of paintings explores 'time, love, loss, hope, and tragedy'," It's Nice That. (Link)
- Ghassemitari, Shawn. "All the Interesting Things Happen at the Transitions," Amadeus. (Link)
- Fischer, Jim. "Arts Preview: Greg Ito: ‘A Swamp Tale’," Columbus Alive. (Link)
- 2018
- Kelley, Sonaiya. "When artist Greg Ito collaborates with ‘Top Chef’s’ Richard Blais, you get ArtxFood," Los Angeles Times. (Link)
- 2017
- Anderson, Alex. "Greg Ito Offers a Pictoral Language for our Dreams," Artslant. (Link)
Awards/Residencies
- 2019
- The Macedonia Institute Residency, Hudson Valley, NY. (forthcoming)
- 2013
- LOOP Arts Award, Oakland, CA.
- Truesilver Residency, San Francisco, CA.
- 2011
- SECA Honorary Committee Member, San Francisco, CA.
Collections
- The Fidelity Collection
- Hallmark Art Collection