Retrospective at Bakersfield Museum of Art

I am honored and thrilled to announce that I will be having my first career retrospective at the Bakersfield Museum of Art opening September 2023. Titled “Bryan Ida: A life of Change” the show will cover my beginning into painting as I transitioned from music 32 years ago and continue on following my evolution as I worked through series after series in a constant quest for knowledge and the ability to communicate. 

Early on I had dedicated my life to music but my life changed when I went to work for Sam Francis as his studio assistant in the 80’s. As I worked for him he helped me realize that the artistic language that was most natural for me was visual and I had the ability put together visual thoughts and phrases much easier than with music. Through his generosity he allowed me to paint in one of his studios that he no longer used and I started my life long journey into painting. 

I started painting initially in Sam’s style but always wanted to move away from his identifiable technique. The first 5 years of my painting career is very derivative, but you can see me push away from the expected.

These are the first three paintings i did as a painter. I distinctly remember exploring how certain acrylic pigments moved into water while others retained their form.

12×14

15×22

13×16