Nature Series 2017-present

Bakersfield Museum of Art
“Bryan Ida : Life of Change: A Retrospective”

Sept 28th, 2023 – Jan 6th, 2024

While working on my “con.Text” series of ink on panel portraits I wanted to express some ideas I had on environmental issues we face today. I began work on two series that culminated in a show titled “Deep”

In “Deep” I present two series of paintings that explore the delicate balance between human existence and the fragile ecosystems that sustain us. We are blessed with a world that contains such exquisite natural beauty and wonder yet mankind’s endless demand for energy and expansion puts immense pressure on these systems to survive. In the name of human advancement and expansion the cost to animal species and the environment is deep and irreversible. The true measure of a civilization is in its compassion and empathy, not in its ability to consume.

Within the “Nature” series, I cut apart landscapes of trees and nature and place them one on top of each other, breaking their continuity, while bending and merging what remains. The juxtaposition of the two worlds reveals the struggle we face today with the future of our planet dependent on our ability to balance the increasing demand for resources and the needs of the natural world.

In the “Fading Light” series I explore the theme of endangered species, depicting each animal obscured in a deep darkness. The concept of fading light serves as a metaphor for the dwindling populations of endangered species and the threat of extinction that looms over them. This twilight also represents the passage of time, the impermanence of life and the move from the unconscious to awareness. As light frequently does, it represents hope and possibility in the face of adversity.