Bryan Ida: Life of Change, a Retrospective

September 28, 2023 to January 6, 2024 

Supported by Kern Family Health Care

Bryan Ida was drawn to music at an early age. His passion for music led him to study electronic music composition and computer sound design in college. In the 1980s, Ida worked for Sam Francis, the noted Abstract Expressionist painter. As Francis’ studio assistant, Ida absorbed the technical aspects of painting, Francis’ sense of freedom and release, and his unique perspective of space and pigment. This period of working side by side with the extraordinary artist, incomparable mentor, and cherished friend was an essential influence in Ida’s segue into painting.

The first five years of his painting career are very derivative of Francis’ identifiable style and technique: an awareness of light and color with his uninhibited freedom of expression in his movement. From the beginning, Ida sought to innovate, experiment, and learn, and allowed the work to evolve.

His work, from series to series, harkens back to the ideals of darks and lights, and forms conversation between diverse angles, colors, urban scenes, and geometric forms. His recent work focuses on two themes: portraits of people faced with institutional discrimination and humankind’s effect on natural ecosystems. Though diverse in technique, the paintings are nuanced and layered, often focusing on time, memory, and the quest for self.  

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