Post-Pandemic Art That Resonates: A Collector Reflects on After the Plague Party Series
Living With Art: An Interview with Ian Garrett
Art becomes most powerful when it intersects with memory, place, and daily life. In this collector spotlight, I had the pleasure of speaking with artist, designer, and educator Ian Garrett, who, along with his partner Justine, brought home one of my artworks from the After the Plague Parties series.
These works were created as reflections on the strange blend of longing, joy, anxiety, and reconnection that followed the pandemic’s peak. Ian’s insights—thoughtful, deeply personal, and poetic—explore how this artwork captured not just a visual moment but an emotional atmosphere: the layered messiness of family, history, and healing.
Read on as he shares how the painting has shaped their new home, reflects their parenting journey, and continues to evolve in meaning with time.
1. Can you describe the artwork in your own words? What drew you to this specific piece?My partner Justine and I were very solo during the lockdowns associated with the pandemic, so I was really engaged with the work you had made in response, thinking about childcare challenges during this time. This piece specifically felt like it captured the durational experience of being a family during COVID. While there is the seeming chaos and action, I was really attracted to the sense of palimpsest both from the historical representation and the different grays. It's not just the chaos of a moment, but of a past... sort of the opposite of the Angelus Novus to get a bit theoretical about it. Whereas Benjamin used that Klee work to talk about the futility of understanding a historical moment because we look back and see the inevitable conclusion of a point in time, I thought this piece felt more like it understood the overlapping histories and messiness of what things we're really like getting to present.
Also, we had just moved into a new house with the giant mirror over the fireplace, and I was hoping to find something to make that less dominant. So it had a practical benefit too. :D
2. What is it about this particular work that resonates with you? What emotions or thoughts does it provoke?
I think that I may have covered a lot in the previous answer... but maybe on the emotional part. It provides a sense of calm... like knowing how chaotic things can be and have been made the present, chaotic or no, manageable. Or maybe, no matter how chaotic things are, they can work out cause they've always been chaotic.
3. How does this artwork fit into your broader collection? Is it a thematic or stylistic centerpiece, or does it complement other works?
It's hard to refer to the art in our home as a collection... but beyond the practical element, I think a lot of the art we hand has something personal about our lives. We've got paintings from traveling, and a commision from an artist I liked that represented our family as birds. In that way, we like things that don't just appeal aesthetically, but have personal meaning. So the connections we have to the time in family life it refers to makes it significant.
4. What is your favorite detail or aspect of the artwork? Is there something in particular about the colours, composition, or technique that captivates you?
I think this changes... with the layering and sort of abstract sketching of various elements, I think it's the emergence of different figures and animals that home out depending on when I'm looking at it. It's a bit like the emergence of something from memory.
5. Does this artwork hold any personal significance for you? Are there any particular memories, experiences, or stories associated with acquiring it?
We got the piece shortly after moving into a new house, and this felt very recent from the COVID times in our smaller apartment with kids... they're now 10 and 8, and when COVID hi they were 5 and 3, so a lot of memory in the uncertainty of half of their lives. It's something which drew me to your work, the presence of the family and domestic lives in unprecedented times.
6. How does owning this piece of art affect your daily life or environment? Do you display it in a certain space or view it in a particular way? Has your perception of this artwork changed over time? Does it continue to evolve in meaning or importance for you?
Well, practically it really reduced the dominance of this huge mirror to the point where we've left it and we catch glimpses of ourselves from all around the piece. It's in our living room, where we all spend time together, so it feels like it's always connecting to our presence and we're continuing to add importance to various emergent figures since it's been in out house nearly as long as we have. It's like detail emerges as our home is more lived in.
7. How do you decide what to add to your collection? What criteria or considerations influence your choices?
I've been interested in your work since seeing a variety of your series. A lot of what we want to hang has significant importance or is specific to our family without being a literal representation. So the balance of artistic and domestic elements were the most exciting elements.
8. What role do you think collectors play in supporting the arts and artists today? How do you see your own role as a collector in preserving or promoting art?
It's actually funny to think of myself as a collector. But as a working artist too, I like to also support and collect things which bring me joy and support artists in building their careers. I love turning corners in my home to find art which brings me joy and has meaning. We have a decently maximal aesthetic, and love stories. I just love connecting with artists and their work.
Learn more about Ian Garrett on his website and at Toaster Lab.
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