From April to June 2019, Major New Public Art in the Heart of Manhattan to be Curated by Brett Littman and Presented with World’s Leading Galleries

On Feb. 5, Frieze New York announced the launch of Frieze Sculpture at Rockefeller Center, created in partnership with Tishman Speyer, to be held annually at New York’s historic Rockefeller Center. Curator Brett Littman (Director of the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum in Long Island City, New York) will oversee the new public outdoor display, which will open the week of April 23 in the lead-up to Frieze New York and will remain open through the end of June 2019. 

The launch of Frieze Sculpture at Rockefeller Center follows its establishment in London’s Regent’s Park, where a free summer display of more than 20 sculptures and installations welcomes millions of visitors from July through October each year. Featuring today’s leading artists presented by international galleries, Frieze Sculpture at Rockefeller Center will create a major public art initiative at one of New York City’s most iconic attractions, with free admission to all.

Rockefeller Center was conceived by John D. Rockefeller as a “city within a city” and a “mecca for lovers of art.” Each day, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and visitors pass through its public spaces, where some of the world’s most recognizable artworks include the Prometheus and Atlas sculptures, and Jose Maria Sert and Sir Frank Brangwyn’s majestic murals at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, as well as, fittingly, Isamu Noguchi’s News (1940), commissioned for the Associated Press building. For the launch edition of Frieze Sculpture at Rockefeller Center, Brett Littman will select and place contemporary sculpture across the landmark site, presented with world-leading galleries. The full list of participating galleries and artists will be announced in the Spring. 

Loring Randolph (Artistic Director, Frieze Americas) said: “I’m thrilled to be collaborating with Rockefeller Center and Brett Littman on a major two-month art initiative, opening up an exciting array of artworks to New Yorkers and international visitors in the heart of Manhattan. Frieze Sculpture at Rockefeller Center is an unprecedented opportunity for our galleries to present work by their artists far beyond a fair booth or gallery space, in a historic, much-loved, and bustling New York City site. Brett Littman is one of New York’s brightest curatorial minds, and I cannot wait to see what he has in store for us!” 

Brett Littman said: “It is very exciting to be working on such a farreaching project with Frieze New York and Rockefeller Center. My goal for Frieze Sculpture this year is to curate an immersive campus-wide installation that is responsive to the architecture and Noguchi’s bas relief News (1940). I plan to include a diverse group of international artists, many of whom have not sited public sculpture in New York before, whose works are conscious of our current political moment and question how sculpture operates in our contemporary world.” 

Michaella Solar-March (Managing Director, Rockefeller Center Marketing and Experience) said: “Rockefeller Center is known and celebrated for its displays of public art, both permanent works and special exhibits with some of the world’s leading artists. Bringing Frieze Sculpture to New York is the next step of our public art journey, and we can’t wait for New Yorkers to be able to enjoy this incredible, wideranging installation that will effectively turn the Center into an art park each year.”