In the Studio with Greg Ito

INTERVIEW

Published Sept 29, 2020

Greg Ito in his studio, 2020

Summer is coming to a close, however you are based in Los Angeles, where it is always warm and sunny. In what way does living in a city with a limited seasonality inspire your paintings?

I’m inspired by the city itself, and the memories I’ve cultivated growing up here, rather than LA’s climate.  But like all of us, I exist to understand why I’m here and why the world is the way it is today.  Making sense of these questions is complex, and I use the LA landscape as a cerebral space for me to explore the symbols and narratives that I paint. I know that someday I’ll be able to live in another part of the world which will add new experiences and shift the work. The paintings are a reflection of myself, but also the world around me.

You use house paint in lieu of a traditional fine art paint. How does that intertwine with your practice at large? 

Accessibility is important to me when it comes to art.  I feel art should be ingrained into everyday life. To say that one material is more refined than another seems grotesque to me.  I always thought it doesn’t matter what something is made of, it’s what it becomes.  I love the moment that art is created—transcending from raw material into objects and images.  My grandfather always made use of what was around him. I grew up watching him tinker with things making precious sentimental objects that are part of my family’s  treasures. He used to use scrap house paint to make signs for the grocery store he worked for, and even made some amazing posters for family events.  I use house paint because anyone can obtain and use it.  It’s a domestic paint used to cover the surfaces of the world we live in.   I also love the matte quality of the paint, and how with time and technique I can create seamless and crisp paintings.

You’ve created a visual language in your work using reoccurring symbols, especially hands. What is the significance of these symbols to you and your work?

Because the paintings are super flat, the expression of brush strokes are hidden in the layers of each color. But I still want to include movement in the paintings, so I began to include hand gestures to show an action similar to an expressionistic stroke of a brush that directs the viewers’ attention and carries your eye across the surface of the painting. I enjoy the way the hands interact with each other and the other symbols and objects in a landscape. It gives a point of reference for the viewer, allowing them to insert themselves or people they know in the narratives presented in the paintings. Other symbols like candles, an hourglass, the sun, and moon are present in the works.  These are all used to investigate my relationship with time.  Keyholes, keys, and islands explore the significance of accessibility to one's hopes and dreams, while fires and rising smoke are used to explore tragedy.  There are so many more in my language, and it continues to grow.  Like words in a poem they come together to express complex emotions or tell a story.

Your work features a more graphic and contemporary take on art historical movements, such as color field painting. What drew you to these art historical references, and how do you integrate them into your own unique practice? 

I went to school in San Francisco where I was able to visit and revisit my favorite work by Mark Rothko, No.14 1960.  I loved how his polarized color fields evoke emotional tensions that I never experienced before in a painting.  I was drawn to it and could sit in front of it forever.  I wanted to explore the painting surface in a similar fashion using the vignette windows to piece together narratives with my visual language and to evoke the same emotional tensions, replacing color fields with images.  Another inspiration to me is alchemical illustrations where ritualistic processes are expressed in emblematic compositions. In a diagramatic fashion these images tie together space, time, the earthly elements, human experience, and magic to explore the quest of turning materials in gold.  I loved the use of symbols in these works, and their compositions that portray the alchemist quest for gold, which reminds me of the human quest for happiness.

Your work often deals with themes of loneliness. Has the lockdown reframed your idea of loneliness, and do you plan on exploring any narratives in the future that reflect on the recent extended period of isolation?

Human connection and companionship is a big focal point for my work.  The stories I’ve presented in my installations and paintings seem more relevant today than before.  I don’t think quarantine has reframed my idea of loneliness, but I have been able to expand it.  I used romantic themes mostly before, but people aren’t just disconnected from a lover now, but also family, friends, work colleagues, the whole world; and on top of that we have the pressures of society crumbling on our shoulders, being told to endure it alone.  Fire imagery has been prevalent in recent works where objects, symbols, and landscapes are set ablaze. In Los Angeles, wildfires are becoming more common, and smoke filled skies are now seasonal.  When I first started painting the fire scenes were surreal to me, an echo of present times, but now as time goes on rising smoke on the LA horizon is as common as a palm tree or a helicopter.   It's hard to think that everyone is experiencing difficulty these days, and the times look dark.  I try to remain as positive as possible for my wife and our soon to be baby.  But this positive outlook I have on the world is beginning to show in the work. My symbols are evolving, changing, and looking brighter to investigate what lies beyond the flames.

What is on your agenda for the upcoming fall season? Anything in particular that you are looking forward to?

Well I’m excited for the current show at Arsenal.  It's my second time showing works alongside Louisa, and Stephanie so that's awesome.  We showed years ago and it's amazing to have our work meet again.  I have an upcoming group exhibition at Maki Gallery, Tokyo and a solo exhibition with Anat Ebgi Gallery in Los Angeles.  I also will have some works at Art Athena Fair with Anat Ebgi as well.

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