“With a distinct nod to Pop Art, Ella Simms created The Ice Cream Factory series. The three stand out paintings  - Vanilla, Chocolate, and Raspberry Cheesecake - gave an inspiration to create this magnificent limited edition giclée prints. Associated with the sheer happiness that a child finds in reward, the image of an ice cream cone was essential to Simms in making the presentation comprehensive. Mundane and realistic, Simms' cone strikes a note of childhood with most. Stripped of context, it becomes a symbol of what is both universal and highly personal. For Simms, the cone stands for simple pleasure, joy. Richard Hamilton's description of Pop Art as 'Popular (designed for a mass audience), Transient (short-term solution), Expendable (easily forgotten), Low cost, Mass produced, Young (aimed at youth), Witty, Sexy, Gimmicky, Glamorous, Big business' [1957, letter to Peter and Alison Smithson] seems apt.
Applying a printmaker's approach, Simms repeated the motif three times in different colour combinations. The background is painted in a monochrome colour, so flat it can be mistaken for a printed sheet. I come to think of a beach umbrella, garish and unapologetic yet so popular for its connotations of leisure. Within this, or slightly in front of, hovers the ice cream cone. Painted in soft, indulgent strokes, it lures the senses. Taken at face value, it is all that Hamilton listed. Enjoy.”

by Martina Larsson