BAKERSFIELD, CA.- The change in seasons brings three new exhibitions to the Bakersfield Museum of Art (BMoA) that discuss the power of place to shape memory, identity, and artistic vision. Together, these exhibitions offer a layered portrait of Bakersfield and its surrounding region, seen through the eyes of those who have lived it, left it, and returned to reinterpret it. The exhibitions debut during a members-only reception Thursday, September 25, 2025, at 7:00 PM. General public viewing begins at 10:00 AM on Friday, September 26, 2025.

David Kimball Anderson: Bakersfield Standards honors landscapes, people, stories, and industrial materials of California’s Central Valley. Drawing from his early memories of traveling Highway 99 as a child and his professional connection to Bakersfield, Anderson uses steel and found objects to explore themes of memory, labor, and place. This deeply personal body of work reflects the region’s working landscapes, cultural fabric, and enduring spirit. Spanning works from 1991 to 2025, this exhibition invites viewers to reconsider the everyday through Anderson’s artistic lens where rust, shape, and story come together in tribute to the Valley.

Kristopher Raos: A Symbol or a Monument brings the artist back to his hometown to explore how the visual residue of urban life—signage, surfaces, and street fragment —holds both personal and cultural meaning. Through meticulously crafted surfaces and object-like compositions, Los Angeles based artist Kristopher Raos transforms the visual language of mass production into a minimalist vocabulary of memory and place by reinterpreting overlooked materials with painterly precision and formal restraint. His work highlights how the time-worn details of daily life accumulate emotional and cultural weight through repetition, context, and the passage of time.

Impressions of Place: Works from BMoA’s Collection rounds out the season with 20 works from our permanent collection that discuss Kern County’s environments, communities, and evolving sense of self. From depictions of the Central Valley’s agricultural landscapes to abstractions rooted in memory and environment, these works reflect the beauty, complexity, and resilience of life in Kern County.

These exhibitions will be on view to the public from September 26, 2025, through January 3, 2026.