Current Exhibitions


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Presenting

Jacqueline Valenzuela, Manzanita, 2024, goldleaf, oil and paint stick on canvas, 60”x 66," Courtesy of the Artist  

Jacqueline Valenzuela: Con Safos, Con Fuerza

September 26, 2024 – January 4, 2025 

Con Safos, Con Fuerza announces artist Jacqueline Valenzuela’s position among the vanguard of feminist art. Valenzuela subverts male-dominated lowrider culture by placing women in central positions in her work. Blending fine art with street culture through her "Mujeres de Lowriding" series and innovative use of automotive materials, Valenzuela challenges stereotypes and elevates diverse voices within the art world. Her approach democratizes the art world, elevating the aesthetics of lowriding—an element of street culture typically marginalized by mainstream art institutions—to high art. This exhibition underscores the transformative impact of inclusive representation in art, demonstrating how merging cultural and artistic traditions can redefine artistic boundaries. 

Sponsored by California Resources Corporation, the Bryce & Florence York Fund, Latina Leaders of Kern County, and Kern Family Health Care.


Cesar Martinez, felix, 2022, House paint, paintstick, 14" x 14," Courtesy of the Artist

Cesar Martinez: Drink Cultura

September 26, 2024 – January 4, 2025

Drink Cultura catalogs Cesar Martinez's journey of self-discovery, cultural reconnection, and quest to create a visual language fluent in cultural heritage that also speaks to diverse audiences. Fueled by feelings of isolation, due to a lack of Spanish fluency and not fitting in with his ethnic identity, Martinez found solace in Jose Antonio Burciaga's book Drink Cultura: Chicanismo. By integrating Aztec and Mayan iconography to explore themes of identity and belonging, Drink Cultura celebrates the richness of the Chicano experience while confronting the complexities of navigating between two cultures. 

Sponsored by Ira & Carole Cohen/UBS Financial, AGM Community Partners, and Kern Family Health Care.


Eugene Choy, Rose House (Bakersfield, Calif.), 1954

Photograph by Julius Shulman, 1955
© J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2004.R.10). 2050-1

Bakersfield Built: Architecture of the 1950s

September 26, 2024 – January 4, 2025

In the wake of the 7.5 magnitude earthquake that devastated downtown Bakersfield on July 21, 1952, and facing a growing post-World War II population boom, masters and students of architecture embraced the Mid-century Modern style in their vision of a city reborn, heralding a new era of architectural innovation. Local architects, many educated under Clarence Cullimore's groundbreaking high school program, and renowned figures from Los Angeles such as Richard J. Neutra and Frank Lloyd Wright, contributed to this transformation. Their work, characterized by clean lines and modern materials, helped Bakersfield become a prominent center for Mid-century Modernism on the West Coast. Bakersfield Built: Architecture of the 1950s highlights how the city’s post-disaster rebuilding and economic boom fostered a unique and cohesive architectural identity. 

This exhibition was created in collaboration with the Society of Architectural Historians, Southern California Chapter.

Sponsored by BMW of Bakersfield, Bakersfield Built Foundation, Curtis & Peggy Darling Fund, Bakersfield College Foundation & Archives, Kelly Archer Interiors, Inc., and Kern Family Health Care.


From the Vault:
Works from BMoA's Collection

May 30, 2024 – January 3, 2026 

From the Vault celebrates California's bright, earthy palette and textures through various mediums—from glass and wood vessels to oil paint and serigraph printing—and demonstrates the diverse range of Bakersfield Museum of Art’s Permanent Collection.  Comprised of over 400 pieces, the Permanent Collection highlights California artists from the 20th century to the present and seeks to provide a comprehensive survey of art produced in and about California. 


Exhibition proposals are welcome. Click here for more information.