Ida Picker: Necessary Things

Ann’s Place Gallery
March 5–April 16
2 Green Bottles by Ida Picker

Two Green Detergent Bottles Above Maytag, 2021, Oil on canvas, 24 x 18 inches

Artist’s Statement:

COVID pushed me to examine and appreciate ordinary things. In the lockdown period, as our world got smaller, I painted scenes within our house. During a blizzard, I set up a temporary studio in the basement with a card table and found myself drawn to the objects around me. My work moved in a new direction. I painted my old Maytag, the dryer, detergent bottles shaped, from a certain perspective, like African masks. While I was underground, I was suddenly released from the traditional painting I had been doing and began what became a new series, “Necessary Things,” using explosive color combinations and a flat style free of traditional modeling and such. More and more, the colors make it happen. And, in the absence of people, objects take on a strange new meaning.