A boat weathering waves on the coast, a tanker filling at a gas station, or even the barren openness of the landscape—they all speak to an unhindered freedom found in the West. This feeling is on display this year’s Art 2026 Tehachapi Exhibition & Sale. Now in its sixth year, the 2026 event promises a wide array of styles, mediums and subjects.
The Tehachapi Arts Commission kicks off the event with a VIP Opening Reception at the Aspen Builders Activity Center on Friday, November 13 from 5 to 9 p.m. Attendees to the ticketed event have first access to the juried exhibition. The show opens to the public on Saturday, November 14, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Christopher Burgan, Cousins Crossing, oil, 12 x 24 in
Mainly featuring representational work, the exhibition brings together long-time favorites as well as emerging artists to “create an evolving showcase that reflects the breadth of fine art being made in America today,” according to the organization.
Nora Koerber returns this year with a piece titled Night Drop at the Circle K, for which she found inspiration at a lonely gas station.
“I was taken by this tanker, filling gas at the station,” Koerber says. “Despite its most common appearance, the gas station represents sustenance for living. Without gas, we don’t have freedom.” Drawing on her background in commercial illustration, the artist still manages to build a narrative in each piece through abstraction and drama.
“I walk the line of what is real and combine how I feel about the subject,” she says. “I’ll push color…I’ll flatten form. All these aspects are employed in my paintings to keep the scene alive, no matter how solemn or statuary the subject may be.”
Pamela Phillips, Green Grapes with China, oil on board, 19 x 19 in.
Artist Pamela Phillips brings two of her reverent still life works this year, breaking up the vast number of landscapes on display. Her piece Green Grapes with China centers on a plate detailed with a floral turquoise design. “I’ve had this beautiful plate for such a long time that I finally took it out and thought some green grapes would look good with it,” she says. “I don’t really think too much or plan things, I just go on how I feel.”
Phillips was drawn to still life subject matter after recognizing the potential in the variety of objects surrounding us in our everyday lives. She achieves a smooth finish in her paintings by applying and sanding many layers of gesso on board, which allows her to focus on the fine details of each object in her composition.
Returning artist and advisory board member Christopher Burgan also breaks the mold with a seascape in his piece titled Cousins Crossing. In the piece, the artist remembers sailing trips with his cousins from Los Angeles to Hawaii. He says the piece is a sort of memorial to his cousin’s late father, as well as the times that cemented their relationship.
Nora Koerber, Night Drop at the Circle K, oil, 12 x 12 in.
“I wanted something that could commemorate him and capture the emotion of that trip because a lot went wrong, but we made it,” Burgan says. “It was a significant time in life for us, and those stories are easy to get lost in time and I thought it was important to record it all.”
The Tehachapi Arts Commission utilizes the event to extend its impact on the art community far beyond the gallery walls. The event helps the organization realize its three goals of bolstering local economy, investing in lasting public art and providing a national stage for artists of all backgrounds and mediums. —
Art 2026 Tehachapi Exhibition & Sale
November 13-14, 2026
Aspen Builders Activity Center
410 W. D Street, Tehachapi, CA 93561
(626) 945-3753, www.artstehachapi.org
Powered by Froala Editor
