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.”

The Wylie and May Louise Jones Gallery is located at Bakersfield College, 1801 Panorama Drive, Bakersfield, CA 93305. The gallery is situated in the Grace Van Dyke Bird Library on the college’s main campus.

The exhibition will be on view from September 8th through October 13th, 2022. The Fall 2022 Jones Gallery hours of operation are: Monday - Thursday: 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.

For more information, please contact jonesgallery@gmail.com or (661) 395-4552.