KELLY WALL AT ROCKEFELLER CENTER
For her first presentation in New York City, artist Kelly Wall will transform the iconic public spaces of Rockefeller Center into immersive fields of color and light. Presented by Art Production Fund and Rockefeller Center, this exhibition marks the first of the 2026 iteration of the Art in Focus public exhibition.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Wall employs everyday memory-loaded objects, from mugs to newspaper dispensers, to explore ideas of perception and nostalgia. Through installation, trompe-l'œil sculpture and word play, Wall invites viewers to take a second look and reflect on the memories hiding in plain sight and influencing us daily. For this installation Wall brings the image of the sunset to Rockefeller Center, a cliché of both sappy endings and of her home town L.A.. These sunsets are distorted and merged, at times with bygone objects and equally clichéd language of “goodbyes.” By bringing these sunsets east, an alternative rhythm is proposed within Midtown’s density: viewers are invited into a moment of pause for a quiet encounter with color, light, and ephemerality of life.
Wall is an installation artist and sculptor with a material-heavy practice. With a focus on glass as a medium to explore perception, Wall relies on testing in the studio along with image collection and photography-based abstraction to create the atmosphere in her work. The project begins with the artist’s observations of atmospheric phenomena: sunsets, gradients of sky, and fleeting transitions of light, an experience both commonplace and sublime. In this presentation, Wall offers subtly manipulated sunsets to cause a double take. Marquees become window-like as distorted sunsets fill their frames, their uncanniness inviting reflection. At times distorted text overlays the image, in others, the sunset flips into an “up-set”, and in others still, expansive gradients and chromatic horizons with circles of another day’s skies float by.
Embedded within the lobby vitrines of 45 Rockefeller Plaza are three salvaged newspaper stands, repurposed by the artist into lightbox sculptures. Once important fixtures of the city’s streets, these bygone stands now hold an image of the end: a sunset in glass, aglow and arrested in time. Positioned against vinyl fields of amber fading to gray, vinyl text of the last three stanzas of Robert Frost’s Nothing Gold Can Stay descends down the face of the glass vitrines.
In this same space, visitors will also encounter Wall’s custom penny press Wistful Thinking. Resembling a wishing well, the interactive sculpture produces flattened tokens stamped with messages such as “You Are Here.” For Wall, this nostalgic device and its placeless souvenirs gesture toward the slippery notion of “here,” encouraging passersby to slow down, participate, and become a part of the installation.
Viewers will discover Wall’s photography and abstract imagery in the public spaces of 45 Rockefeller Plaza, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, 10 Rockefeller Plaza, and 1 Rockefeller Plaza.
As part of the presentation, Wall and Art Production Fund will host a free and public children’s art-making workshop on site at Rockefeller Center on Saturday, March 21 from 10am-1pm as part of the ongoing Art Sundae program. Inspired by Wall's sculpture practice, the children will be invited to collage lighting gels in shapes of clouds onto plexiglass magazine covers, clear mugs and key chains. The children’s artworks will then be displayed at Rockefeller Center as part of a public art exhibition.
“My practice is pretty localized to California, conceptually and formally, so I’m excited to see this work in a new context, especially one as famed to New York as Rockefeller Center” - KELLY WALL
“We’re thrilled to bring Kelly Wall’s classic Los Angeles sky imagery to such an iconic New York landmark. The subtle serene skyscapes contrast with the energy of New York City in such a beautiful way. The juxtaposition of the visuals and sculpture highlights the distinct differences and beauty of both American cities.”
-CASEY FREMONT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ART PRODUCTION FUND
“Rockefeller Center is the ideal home for Kelly Wall’s first NYC presentation. We are excited to welcome Kelly's California-style skyscapes into the heart of Manhattan and look forward to sharing her work across our campus – on the grand scale and in intimate, nostalgic settings.” - EB KELLY, HEAD OF ROCKEFELLER CENTER AND SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR, TISHMAN SPEYER
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, Will Cotton, Greg Ito, Julia Chiang and Cynthia Talmadge.
ROCKEFELLER CENTER is a global icon in the heart of New York City. Conceived by John D. Rockefeller Jr. as a “city within the city,” the Center comprises 13 buildings connected by an underground concourse. Under the stewardship of owner and operator Tishman Speyer, the Center has become the city's most dynamic place to work, play, dine, shop, and celebrate. Rockefeller Center offers an outdoor, public museum experience with more than 100 permanent art works across campus along with rotating exhibitions and the gallery at legendary auction house Christie’s. Visitors can join an official Rockefeller Center group or private VIP tour to learn about the campus’s art, architecture, and history. For more information or to purchase tickets to attractions and programs, 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 Center, 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, NYC and Hammer Museum, LA; Derrick Adams “Funtime Unicorns”, Rockefeller Center, NYC. Frieze Projects LA 2023-2025, LA. www.artproductionfund.org
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