Barbara Ishikura

Birdbath

acrylic and oil on canvas

60″ x 48″

2025

Not For Sale

This painting captures a moment of everyday life, blending the beauty of the ordinary with the complexity of social identity. A young woman sits on plastic lawn furniture, embodying both beauty and simplicity, while a dog pees on a birdbath. The scene is quintessentially working-class: Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and a donut sit on the table, as birds play in the bath. This juxtaposition of high and low culture mirrors my own life—shaped by a working-class upbringing and a later immersion in more privileged, multicultural environments. The piece explores the tension between social class, taste, and the contradictions inherent in both.

@barbara.ishikura