Jones Gallery Past Exhibitions
Past Exhibitions
2023 Panorama Invitational Art Exhibition
2023 Panorama Invitational Art Exhibition: February 2 - March 9, 2023
The Panorama Invitational has been an annual event for nearly 20 years at Bakersfield College. The exhibition will display the artwork of Kern County high school students. It will include a variety of art, showcasing a wonderful range of 2-dimensional, 3-dimensional, and multimedia pieces.
2022 "Eden"
The directors of the Wylie and May Louise Jones Gallery are proud to present Eden, a solo exhibition by Fresno-based artist Audia Yvonne Dixon (b. 1992). This show is a selection of paintings connected to a history of pastoral landscape and portraiture. The subjects of the artworks are young Black girls situated in serene, dreamlike scenes, but before the viewer finds rest, an awareness of turbulence is apparent in the pictures. This imagery bridges a surrealistic nostalgia with foreshadowing of experiences that these young Black girls will soon confront in life. But within the nostalgia and innocence, there resides hope. The work is designed to stir a deeper conversation about the loss of innocence experienced by people of color and specifically Black girls, as a result of existing in our contemporary society. The work balances this nostalgic innocence with harsh realities of our world and they provide a place for the subjects to, in the words of the artist, “be praised and protected.”
Dolores Huerta: Revolution in the Fields / Revolución en los Campos
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service - Spring 2021
2022 Panorama Invitational
An exhibition of exceptional artwork by Kern County High Schools.
2021 BC Art Collection Exhibition
A show of the Bakersfield College art collection.
2021 BC Art Faculty Exhibition
Select artwork from Bakersfield College Art Faculty.
Fall 2019 Sage Paisner - Things That Will Make You a Man
The directors of the Wylie and May Louise Jones Gallery are excited to present, Things that Will Make You a Man an exhibition by Sage Paisner. Sage Paisner is a photographer and videographer from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Sage uses photography, video and new media to tell the personal and cultural stories that connect, inform and broaden understanding for a healthy and vital world community. Things that Will Make You a Man is an exhibition of his latest body of work.
Fall 2018 Matthew Craven - Collector Exhibition
The directors of the Wiley and May Louise Jones Gallery are proud to present COLLECTOR. A body of work from Los Angeles-based artist Matthew Craven. His work utilizes found imagery collage, sourced from texts rich with historic iconography, which he arranges into compelling contemporary images.
Craven's process-driven work employs a unique balance of combined patterns, textures, and figures. The fusion of new and old allows the viewer to interpret the struggles of past cultures and can serve as a reminder of contemporary aberrations. While other pictures offer a quiet, meditative retreat through repetition and precise use of color. This combination of inquiry creates a challenging, yet rewarding experience.
Fall 2018 MrBbaby - Alegres Sueños
A Latina born and raised in San Diego, California, Michelle Ruby aka MrBbaby, uses elements of her heritage as inspiration for her striking and lively artwork. Bbaby is heavily influenced by her community, as well as her Puerto Rican/Mexican upbringing. By combining vibrant colors with traditional imagery, MrBbaby is able to uplift her audience and intrigue her viewers. The artist's aim is to bring happiness and joy to her collectors and community, while also having stronger messages intertwined, all of which are open to the viewer's interpretation.
Michelle was raised in a predominantly Spanish-speaking home with a single mother and her older sister. Her mother's strong work ethic led her to move to San Francisco and pursue her dream as an artist. Bbaby lived and studied art in San Francisco. After attaining her Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts, she then decided it was time for a change and returned to her hometown to focus on a career. She had a daughter of her own and was determined to lead by example, so she began teaching art full-time. Although Michelle enjoyed teaching, she longed to create. She eventually moved to Los Angeles to try her go at being a full-time artist. Regardless of the many obstacles and struggles along the way, MrBbaby was persistent and determined in all she did. She is now residing part-time in Los Angeles and part-time in San Diego trying to succeed in the art world and provide a strong role model for her daughter. She has now shown in galleries, such as Chimmaya Gallery, Just another Gallery, Chicano Park Gallery, and more. She is also a muralist and has had clients ranging from Random House to San Diego Weekly, etc.
View more of the artist's work through the artist's Instagram page.
Fall 2017 Aaron Farley and Joshua Schaedel - Reflection Exhibition
Aaron Farley and Joshua Schaedel's collaboration started from a place of sharing experiences from their past to draw inspiration from in the hopes to grow. Upon their first meeting two years ago, they began work on their first body of work titled “Yield”, which dives head first into the exploration of construction materials as a means to dissolve both their history working in construction and the potential that raw construction materials can be a source for new and unexpected possibilities. In this iteration of their collaboration, the artists are asking the viewers to go on a journey with them of personal growth as they explore conversations of therapy, self-realization, meditation and its manifestation through art. Even though becoming the best versions of ourselves is nearly impossible, we must reflect to truly see ourselves, as the way to know someone or something is to see your reflection in them.
View the gallery through the artists' web page
