Artist Maurice Harris Takes Over the Rockefeller Center Campus with a New Public Art Installation

Part of the Art in Focus series of public art pop-ups, Rockefeller Center and Art Production Fund will present a public art exhibition by Los Angeles-based floral artist, photographer and founder of the studio Bloom & Plume, Maurice Harris. Harris’ exhibition featuring floral assemblages and portrait photography will be displayed throughout the Rockefeller Center campus beginning Tuesday, September 7th.

The images Harris presents as vinyl murals (located at 10 Rockefeller Plaza, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 50 Rockefeller Plaza and the street and concourse levels of 45 Rockefeller Plaza, as well as outside on Rockefeller Plaza) feature a series of portraits of family members and community cast by Harris for their natural beauty, and set against gold backgrounds surrounded by floral compositions that have been assembled by hand. Harris includes empty floral frames to invite viewers to imagine themselves in the work as well.

The site-specific mixed-media installations in the vitrine spaces (located in the lobby of 45 Rockefeller Plaza) feature Maurice’s niece, Elyse, who he considers his muse. Almost as if peering into a different realm, the full-size portraits of Elyse are set among lush foliage.

Well known for his floral artistry, Harris expanded his practice to include portrait photography. The series of photographs installed at Rockefeller Center are primarily from his ‘“Shades of Blackness Vol. 2 #untouched #nofilter #naturalopulence” and “Shades of Blackness Vol. 3 Don’t Touch My Hair”’ series.