Visual Arts Festival
Saturation

Presented by Amy & Zane Smith, and Kathy & Steve Hair

May 25, 2023 – September 9, 2023

Saturation, one of the characteristics of color, refers to the intensity of color. Artists often use it to draw attention to focal points within a composition. Saturation also refers to repetitive, recognizable images encountered in everyday life. Artists in the Pop Art movement like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein created art that portrayed aspects of the human experiences within a media-saturated age—consumer products and pop-culture icons—and the unnoticed moments of the American Dream. The inundation of recognizable figures in artwork is a reflection of how iconography saturates the human experience. Visual artists use the concept of saturation through repetition and color choice to create their commentaries.

Art reflects society, whether subtly or directly. Saturation and how it affects the viewer is the theme of the 2023 Visual Arts Festival.

This juried small works exhibition has been a BMoA tradition since 1989. This year marks the 20th biennially held festival. Any artist age 18 or older living in California is invited to participate.

Best In Show

Vojislav Radovanovic, Glorious Day, mixed media on wood 

Vojislav Radovanović (1982. Valjevo, Republic of Serbia, former Yugoslavia) is a Serbian non-medium specific artist, art director, documentarian, and independent curator based in Los Angeles, CA. Witness in his youth to turbulent political unrest and war in the Balkan region, his visual and conceptual artwork advocates for beauty, environmentalism, mental health, and societal transmutation.  

His artwork often utilizes a conceptual concentration on wild plants, specifically weeds. The resilient, boundary-defying plants become a metaphor for nature’s powerful ingenuity. The symbolism and conceptualism of weeds also apply to multiple human aspects: its endurance, queer identity, the immigrant experience, and colonization.  

Since his first solo exhibition in the National Museum of Valjevo (Serbia) at age fifteen, he has presented his works internationally in numerous group and solo exhibitions. Radovanović recently finished a year-long residency as a community engaged artist at MOAH Lancaster as part of Artists at Work program supported by Mellon Foundation. 

 Artist Statement 

“My work uses color gels that are hyper saturated and refined lines in a pop homage style. They are about pleasing the eye in a bright, bold, and fun way.” 

Juror Statement 

“The use of materials here had a subtlety that had me returning to it for reexamination multiple times. The spare elements in the work ultimately come together to form a balanced composition that wholly convinces while retaining its mystery.”

Second Place

Nyoka Reed, Persephone, Watercolor, colored pencil, and ink on paper mounted on wood 

Nyoka Reed’s work explores a variety of mixed media. Featuring mostly female subjects in brilliant colors, Nyoka’s work frequently blurs the lines between realism and abstraction. Working predominantly with watercolor and colored pencils, Nyoka’s work explores the concepts of femininity and unrealistic beauty standards society places on women. Her current mixed media series experiments with the unpredictable nature of watercolor, and the need to create order with drawing media such as colored pencils.  

Nyoka is an Adjunct Professor of Art at Bakersfield College and Taft College. She earned her BA from California State University, Bakersfield and her MFA from Academy of Art University, San Francisco. 

 Artist Statement 

“When I think about the best way to describe my work it comes down to one thing – color.  I love to experiment with different styles and different media, but one thing that is a constant is bright, vibrant colors.  My current series of dreamlike portraits are inspired by Art Nouveau and the works of Margaret Morales and Lioba Bruckner. For the 2023 Visual Arts Festival, my painting Persephone is an exploration of color intensity, as well as using wet media to saturate the paper.” 

 Juror Statement 

“This artist professes a love of art nouveau, and it’s evident in the intricate line work and exuberant color. The contrast of bold forms and subtle shading adds layers of complexity.” 

Third Place

Sydney Harter, Looking Back, Photograph

Originally from the Bay Area, Sydney Harter has been a transplant of Bakersfield for over 30 years. The people and terrain continue to inspire her to tell stories of beauty, courage, and unique landscape. 

Artist Statement 

“My mom shared 58 years of her life with my dad. When he passed away in 2020, everything accelerated. There were so many things to do—Mountains of possessions to go through, sorting, discarding, boxing up.  

On this day, she finds her wedding veil and chooses to step away from weighty responsibilities.” 

Juror Statement 

“There was a lot of interesting photography in this year’s submissions, and I chose this work for its intimacy and clarity. “Saturation” here means the accruing of memories over a lifetime.” 

2023 Festival Juror

Jedediah Caesar Director, Todd Madigan Gallery, CSUBakersfield

Jedediah Caesar
Director, Todd Madigan Gallery, CSUBakersfield

Jedediah Caesar is an artist, educator and curator. Since 2014 he has been a lecturer in the Department of Art and Art History, and the Director of the Todd Madigan Gallery at CSUBakersfield. In that role he has curated solo exhibitions by numerous artists, including John Ziquiang Wu, Patricia Fernandez, and Miljohn Ruperto. His exhibitions at the Todd Madigan Gallery have been reviewed by Frieze magazine and Artforum, and are regularly written about in the Bakersfield Californian. From 2014- 2018 he was a co-curator of Rogers, a space for experimental art and curatorial practices in Los Angeles, CA.

In addition to his curatorial work Caesar is a practicing artist who has had numerous exhibitions, including solo exhibitions at the Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA; Oakland Museum of California Art, Oakland, CA; and Locust Project, Miami, FL. His work was included in the 2008 Whitney Biennial at the Whiney Museum of American Art, New York, NY. Writings about his work have appeared in publications including Art in America, Mousse Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times. Recently, he was the recipient of a 2020 COLA Fellowship from the City of Los Angeles.