The studio that Jacob Kahn and Asher work in is very important to the story. This is the place where Asher is first truly allowed to paint and do art, without inhibition. Jacob shows Asher all of his techniques, his skills, and his ideas. Asher is inducted into the new life as a painter, and learns to give up his old life. The studio is where it all began. If it had not been there, Asher would have had no place to go to develop his skills, and he would have not been able to be such a great painter.
The studio was an escape from his home, where he was persecuted for being involved in art. It was the first place that he could actually express himself through his art without the thought that someone would disapprove. Here he becomes free, no longer attached to the obligations of his religion. Here he is able to forget about what troubles him in his life and focus only on his art. He becomes a different person when he is here, he is a painter.
Asher is given a sense of security by the studio. I think he feels that it is almost a second home for him. From it he receives education, morals, and assistance with his problems, much like one would receive from a family. This time, his parents are Jacob and Anna, as well as the parts of the art community that he is introduced too. The studio helps him gain a sense of security that he is not able to get anywhere else. Asher is able to become proud of his art.
The studio lets Asher express himself while escaping what oppresses him at home. The studio also transforms him from a Jewish boy to a painter. This is where his artistic career starts. Asher learns the basics from a master, and by doing this, he becomes a master himself. Without this special place, Asher would have never amounted to such an outstanding artist. It was here that Jacob Kahn molded Asher into what he became, and without it, he would have been just another person who could draw. Asher Lev would have not been unique.