Im going through my archive establishing a timeline of my work in preparation for my retrospective at the Bakersfield Museum of Art.

“Bryan Ida : A Life of Change”

September 28th, 2023 – January 6th, 2024

I will post this timeline as I write it in a series of posts.

Coming from a musical background where one learns by intense practice, repetition and gathered knowledge I applied this method of learning to my new medium. With no formal training and an intense desire to learn I painted something new every day. I would examine what I did the prior day, contemplate the lesson and finish something for the new day. I felt comfortable with the creativity, but the challenge was to figure out how to express that creativity into something deeper using the eyes instead of the ears. 

I continued working in acrylic figuring out flow, bleed and viscosity. I used visual elements and gestures from movements of the past to feel with my own hands how gestures are laid down in paint. 

Untitled 84 x 54 acrylic on canvas 1993

“Nature Balanced with Spirit” 38 x 58 acrylic on canvas 1994

“Between Fear and Desire” 24 x 36 acrylic on canvas 1994

“The Storm Outside” 36 x 48 acrylic on canvas 1995

Untitled 60 x 48 acrylic on canvas 1995

Untitled 36 x 48 acrylic on canvas 1995

“Fire on Blue” 36 x 48 acrylic on canvas 1995

Untitled 48 x 36 acrylic on canvas 1995

Thank you David Rubin for the wonderful insightful words in the review of my show “Deep” at Billis Williams Gallery.

Review

The show is down but you can see the work here:

Billis Williams Gallery

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

Honored to be a part of this show

“The Circle of Sam Francis: Experimenting in California” 

Opening May 25th, 7-9pm

Bakersfield Museum of Art

“Sam Francis kept several studios and homes through the West Coast of California. In these studios Sam often surrounded himself with many young and emerging artists who provided him with help, care, and endless inspiration. Exploring the creative process was his driving force. In doing so, Francis created an atmosphere of experimentation that allowed his assistants to expand their artistic education and nurture their own creativity. The Circle of Sam Francis: Experimenting in California will highlight work made by Francis during this exciting era of artistic exploration and survey the artists who worked alongside the master.”

In the late 80’s I worked for Sam Francis as a studio assistant in his Bay Area studios. Eventually as his health declined he moved to LA for treatment and he moved me down to help out. I was living in his 20,000sf studio in Venice with my main focus prior to the move being music.  As I discovered more about myself and with exposure to Sam I realized my abilities to express myself was more inherent in visual arts as opposed to aural so I turned to painting as my from of expression. I was given full access to the studio as he didn’t use it any more and I started my career as a painter. 

These three works are very early in my journey. the small red piece is the second painting I did as a painter in the studio. The framed figure is from a model my friends and I would bring in once a week and the third painting is when I was learning by painting in Sam’s style of pouring and flow.

Thank you to Genie David and Joseph A. Hazani for these insightful reviews of my show “Deep” at Billis Williams Gallery in Culver City.

Genie wrote for DiversionsLA

Joseph wrote for adilettante

Works from the show available

I am very happy with the show. Tressa and Jeramie did a standout job of placing the work in space. I especially like the grouping of six in the corner next to my favorite piece “Orangutan”.

This link has Available work through the gallery with sizes and more specifics.

Artist statement for ” Deep”

“Sumatran Tiger” 20 x 60 acrylic on panel

I am excited to present two new series of work in a solo show at Billis Williams Gallery in LA.

“Deep”
May 6th – June 3rd

Opening Reception May 6th 4 – 7 pm

Billis Williams Gallery
2716 S La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034
310-838-3685

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.

“Snow Leopard” 24 x 21 acrylic on panel

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.

“Hawksbill Turtle” 25 x 20 acrylic on panel

“Blue Whale” 30 x 72 acrylic on panel

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.

“The Park” 40 x 34 acrylic on panel

“Nature’s Way” 47 x 41 acrylic on panel

“Hawksbill Turtle” 25×20 acrylic on panel

For an upcoming show at Billis Williams Gallery in LA

May 6th

My ongoing show “con.Text”, featuring 18 ink on panel portraits, at the de Saisset Museum in Santa Clara will be having an outdoor reception Thursday, April 13, 2023 from 4-6 p.m. 

There will be light refreshments outside on the lawns in front of the museum and you are welcome to take your time in the galleries. 

The museum is located on the campus of Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95050  (408) 554-4528.

If you cannot make it mid week Thursday we have scheduled small group walk throughs with me on Friday April 14 and Saturday April 15 at 11:30 -12:15pm and 1-1:45pm. Due to capacity restrictions advanced registration is suggested and will open soon.

2 of the 18 pieces hanging in the show:

“Tiffany” is the granddaughter of Roy Sakasegawa who was drafted

into the U.S. army in August 1941 from Salinas CA four months before

Pearl Harbor. After the attack Roy’s family was incarcerated along with 120

thousand people of Japanese descent, 62% were American, in Poston

Arizona one of the 10 internment camps set up to house the internees.

Roy went on to serve in the 442nd Infantry division composed of Japanese

Americans who fought mostly in Europe. The 442nd Regiment is the most

decorated unit for its size in U.S. Military history. The unit earned more

than 18,000 awards including 21 Medal of Honor.

The text used to make the marks is Executive Order 9102 that

established the War Relocation Authority the agency responsible for the

forced relocation and internment of Japanese Americans during WWII.

Lorraine’s great grandfather first came to the United States in the

1850’s on a 30ft Sampan, a Chinese fishing vessel not designed to cross an

ocean. He landed in Mendocino County and immediately began work in

the lumber camps as a cook. After going to China in the late 1880’s he tried

to return to his family in California, but due to the Chinese Exclusion Act

of 1882 he had to pay to take the name of a citizen to be allowed back to

his family in California.

The text used to render the portrait is The Chinese Exclusion Act of

1882, which was the first and only law to prevent all members of a specific

ethnic group from immigrating to the United States. Many Americans on

the West Coast attributed declining wages and economic ills to Chinese

workers so Congress passed the Exclusion Act to placate worker demands

and assuage prevalent concerns about maintaining white “racial purity.”

It is my pleasure to have two pieces included in a show that marks the 50th Anniversary of the Sister-City program between the city of Kashiwa, Japan, and the city of Torrance.To celebrate this milestone Torrance Art Museum is presenting an exhibition of the myriad artistic talents of the Japanese American community based here in southern California. These diaspora artists reflect the complexity and diversity of art practices from those who share a dual legacy, inclusive of the cultures of both countries, to form unique composite expressions of culture.

The show is titled “Bridging the Pacific” and is curated by Max Presneill.

Opening reception January 28, 6-9pm

January 31 thru March 4th

Artists: Tetsuji Aono, Yumiko Glover, Kio Griffith, Clement Hanami, Bryan Ida, Ichiro Irie,  Takeshi Kanemura, Wakana Kimura, Ibuki Kuramochi, Kaoru Mansour, Yoshie Sakai, Macha Suzuki, Misato Suzuki, Tomoaki Shibata, Miki Yokoyama