MGM Resorts Announces Japanese-American Artist Parker Ito
as Bellagio’s Next Resident
Ito to Create Series of Still Lifes Inspired by Experiences in Las Vegas and Personal Background
Emerging Japanese-American artist Parker Ito is the new resident of the Artist Studio at Bellagio, where guests have the opportunity to observe first-hand as the artist’s works come to life. Now through June 23, Ito will produce five major paintings inspired by his experiences in Las Vegas and subtly influenced by his Japanese heritage. These innovative works, paired with Ito’s unconventional studio practice utilizing photography, painting and printmaking techniques, will encourage viewers to reconsider familiar images of the Las Vegas cityscape.
As a consummate user and producer of media, Ito creates paintings, sculptures and video works by drawing upon his extensive experience online as both artist and audience. Known for generating networked bodies of work, Ito spreads ideas and imagery in a way that reflects the relentless impressions that might be generated in one’s experience. As art critic and curator Nicolas Bourriard writes of his work, “The works of … Parker Ito have no origin, no source code. They are made in the form of circuits – they proliferate and surge.”
During his residency at Bellagio, Ito will reimagine traditional still lifes placed in conversation with the cityscape of Las Vegas as seen from multiple MGM Resorts properties, including Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, The Signature at MGM Grand and Circus Circus. Exhibiting the qualities of objects found in Dutch vanitas still life painting, Ito’s selection of foregrounded objects will function as metaphorical imagery both for the human experience and his own. The items presented flourish and fade, much like the decomposing flowers and other organic objects regularly featured in historical still lives. The surrounding panorama of Las Vegas will serve as a backdrop for his compositions, creating personal moments contrasted against the vast, twinkling expanse of the city.
Having grown up as a fourth-generation Japanese American, or Yonsei, in northern Orange County, Calif., Ito’s works will also subtly nod to Japanese culture and Ito’s diverse personal experiences. The paintings will address issues surrounding assimilation and cultural rediscovery by juxtaposing traditional Japanese motifs with Western American landscapes.
Ito will photograph arrangements of objects in a living room-like setting with the use of an outdated digital camera. From these images, he will use a transfer method he established to transform these image-based works into large-scale paintings within the studio, resembling an updated version of the solvent transfers pioneered by Robert Rauschenberg in the 1950s and 1960s.
Tarissa Tiberti, Executive Director of Art & Culture for MGM Resorts, said, “Parker Ito is an incredible artist and we are thrilled to watch as he brings an entirely new perspective to the beauty of Las Vegas’ landscape through his artistic practice. While the vantage point from each property may be familiar, the view from Ito’s eyes will entice guests to enjoy a longer gaze from their window during their stay with us.”
Guests are invited to view Ito’s work at the Artist Studio at Bellagio from 2 – 6 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday with an opportunity to interact with the artist from 2 – 4 p.m. The Artist Studio is located adjacent to Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art (BGFA).
Additionally, during Art Basel in Switzerland, from June 13 – 16, the MGM Resorts Lounge will feature three works completed by Ito during his residency at Bellagio.
For more information, please visit the MGM Resorts Art & Culture website.
For information on Parker Ito, visit http://parkerito.com.
About Parker Ito
PARKER ITO is a fourth generation Japanese American, or Yonsei ( 四世 ), living and working in Los Angeles. Ito’s work takes the form of installation, painting, sculpture, video, drawing, websites and printmaking. Materially inventive and heavy with processes that might corrupt or enhance, he produces impressions of the things around him. Ito assembles cultural markers, ornaments, vistas and consumables. He pushes these arrangements through technologies – including screens, cameras, printers, hand-painting – and the atmospheric effects of these processes behave like the binding substance of the artist’s consciousness. Bracing all of the artist’s output is the structure of the network. Ito gives focus to the specific conditions of making and exhibiting art, as well as the extended network that his practice traces. www.parkerito.com
Forthcoming solo exhibitions by the artist include at Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing (2019); and Château Shatto, Los Angeles (2020). Recent solo exhibitions by the artist include CONDO, hosted by Sadie Coles HQ, London; P, Primary, Nottingham; P, Team Gallery, New York; #17, Beijing Art Now Gallery, Beijing; A Lil Taste of Cheeto in the Night, Château Shatto, Los Angeles; Maid in Heaven / En Plein Air in Hell, White Cube, London. Previous group exhibitions include Welcome Too Late, Kunsthal Charlottenburg, Copenhagen; LA Dreams, CFHILL, Stockholm; Bodacious, Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver; Times Museum, Guangzhou; Co-Workers, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; TERRAFORMERS, Bonington Gallery, Nottingham; The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Yarat Contemporary Art Space, Baku; Wet Paint, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London; and Everythings, Andrea Rosen, New York. In 2012, Ito’s work was exhibited at the NTT InterCommunication Center (ICC) in Tokyo.
Ito’s work is in major public and private collections around the world, including the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris; Henry Art Gallery, Seattle; Getty Research Institute; Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing; Yuz Museum, Shanghai; Sandretto Foundation, Turin; Aishti Foundation, Beirut; and PCP Collection, Taipei.
Ito has published books with Three Star Books, One Star Press, Landfill Editions, RRose Editions and Diane Incorporated. His work has appeared in Artforum, Frieze, Art Review, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Purple Magazine, The Quietus, Mousse Magazine and Interview Magazine.
About Bellagio Resort & Casino
Inspired by the beautiful villages of Europe, the AAA Five Diamond Bellagio Resort & Casino overlooks a Mediterranean-blue, 8 ½-acre lake in which fountains perform a magnificent aquatic ballet. Award-winning dining, a world-class art gallery, the exquisite Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, the stunning performance of “O” by Cirque du Soleil, a sumptuous spa and salon and exclusive luxury shopping all work together to compose the symphony that is Bellagio. Bellagio is owned by MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM). For more information and reservations, visit bellagio.com, call toll free at (888) 987-6667 or find us on Facebook and Twitter.
About MGM Resorts Art & Culture
MGM Resorts Art & Culture focuses on commissioning, collecting, supporting and presenting contemporary art in and around MGM Resorts’ destinations globally. Currently the MGM Resorts Art Collection includes more than 800 pieces by over 200 artists.
MGM Resorts Art & Culture was established in 2016 to encompass all of MGM Resorts’ collections and varied art-related initiatives and partnerships to develop a comprehensive, multifaceted arts program. Reflecting the company’s core values of inclusivity and diversity, MGM Resorts Art & Culture aims to create special, accessible experiences for all audiences. Each project thoughtfully considers the artist, the environment, and the overall experience, recognizing the power of art to evoke emotion, engage the senses, and spark conversation. Art is prevalent throughout MGM Resorts distinctive world-class brands including Bellagio, ARIA, Vdara, MGM Grand, and Delano Las Vegas; as well as MGM National Harbor outside of Washington, D.C., MGM Springfield in Massachusetts, and internationally at MGM MACAU and MGM COTAI.
Examples include works by Alice Aycock (National Harbor, Maryland), Jenny Holzer (ARIA, Las Vegas), Antony Gormley (ARIA, Las Vegas), Maya Lin (ARIA, Las Vegas), Robert Rauschenberg (Bellagio, Las Vegas), Nancy Rubins (Vdara, Las Vegas), James Turrell (ARIA, Las Vegas), among many others.
