January 29, 2026 - August 26, 2026

The Exhibit | Artist Biography | Images | Events

Ann Diener: The Invented Land (January 29 – August 29, 2026) is a solo exhibition by California-based artist Ann Diener that offers a deeply layered and visually immersive investigation of the San Joaquin Valley’s past, present, and future. Rooted in Diener’s personal heritage as a fourth-generation descendant of a California farming family, the exhibition uses drawing, sculpture, and installation to examine the transformation of land through industrial agriculture, environmental change, and cultural memory.

Featuring key works such as Greenhouse (2023), a walk-in sculpture composed of steel, acrylic, and beaded elements, and Liquid Gold, a dynamic drawing referencing the depletion of the region’s aquifers, the exhibition confronts the complex realities of land use, water scarcity, and the socio-political consequences of California’s agricultural dominance. With meticulously layered surfaces that integrate architectural schematics, botanical imagery, and historical cartography, Diener constructs dreamlike, archival landscapes that function as both critique and homage.

The Bakersfield Museum of Art’s presentation includes new site-responsive works inspired by the Kern River, deepening the exhibition’s regional resonance. Located in the heart of the Valley, BMoA provides a uniquely meaningful context for this exhibition, allowing Central Valley audiences to reflect on their lived experiences and connect local histories to broader environmental and cultural narratives.

This project contributes significantly to the art of historical canon by advancing contemporary conversations around land art, eco-critical practices, and visual storytelling rooted in place-based research. Diener’s work, which bridges personal history with environmental critique, aligns with emerging discourses in contemporary drawing and installation that challenge traditional landscape representations and foreground the politics of place.  

Ann Diener’s (b. Oxnard, CA, works in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles) drawing and installation practice investigates, records and traces the diverse elements that comprise the complicated history of place. Often large in scale, the works are multi-layered narratives. By incorporating maps, charts, and printed materials, the artist examines the social and political ramifications of how land and urban spaces are cultivated, manipulated, developed, and controlled. Recently, she has expanded her drawing practice to include lithographs and tapestries. Through references to land, culture, time and memory, these complex works move beyond mere geographic representations to engage with the anthropological layers of place. 

Diener earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of California Los Angeles and her Masters of Fine Arts from the University of California Santa Barbara. Her works have been exhibited in museums and galleries, among them the Weatherspoon Museum in North Carolina, the Art, Design and Architecture Museum at UCSB, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the Torrance Museum, Otis College of Art and Design, the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, the Riverside Museum, the Atkinson Gallery at Santa Barbara City College, Edward Cella Art and Architecture and Bank Gallery, Los Angeles and Hosfelt Gallery and Electric Works, San Francisco, as well as numerous art fairs in the US and Europe. 

Her work has been reviewed in The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, Art on Paper, Artweek, among others. She has been awarded residencies at The Bogliasco Foundation, Genoa, Italy, Kaus Australis, Rotterdam and the American Academy, Rome. She has taught at The University of California Santa Barbara and her practice includes bringing art to public schools. 

Exhibition Tours  

Free with your BMoA Membership.

Saturday, February 14
Friday, March 13
Saturday, April 11

Artists on Artists

Saturday, March 14
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

A special conversation between visiting artists Ann Diener and Ali Vaughan as they discuss the ideas, processes, and landscapes that shape their work. Moderated in a casual, dialogue-driven format, the program offers insight into each artist’s evolving practice and the resonances between their work. A Q&A with the audience will follow.

ARTICULATED

Ali Vaughan | Friday, February 20, 12:00 PM
Ann Diener | Friday, March 20, 12:00 PM

Instagram Live conversation between exhibiting artists and curator Victor Gonzales about creative practice, inspiration, storytelling, and process.