From a small pop-out box mantled onto the wall to a huge wire depiction of the Buddha, the many possibilities of what artists can do with found materials were displayed at the Atkinson Gallery Annex.

The Annex opened its doors to the “Fantastic Rubbish” exhibit at 5 p.m., April 19. This exhibit was curated by the Atkinson Galleries intern Ally Bortolazzo.

This is Bortolazzo’s third gallery opening. She said her concept for this student exhibition was to incorporate the use of random and found materials to create beautiful and intricate pieces of art.

The pieces displayed a range of variations,  such as 3-D art, small sculptures, a massive-sized rendering of a Buddha and even a collage piece hung from the wall.

The Buddha sculpture created by art student Joakim Ingerlund was truly spectacular. The foundation of this massive piece was made of chicken wire and is filled with tin foil, rusted pipes to show the ribs, a sink faucet, a lantern fixed on top of the figures head and many more objects that Ingerlund found around him.

This impressive piece sits cross-legged and attracts the viewer’s eye immediately, not only because of its size, but also because of its intricate features and beautifully constructed form.

Most of the art was created using materials found in the artists’ trash cans, and other pieces were created by objects found around their house. With such eclectic materials, odd pieces such as used expo markers and old candy wrappers were molded together to create a deeper and more meaningful piece.

The 3-D wall piece titled “Childhood Sediment,” by Katy Payne displayed broken pieces of wood that has household found objects dispersed throughout the piece. Objects such as a contact case, iPhone headphones and children’s toys encompassed the artwork. These random objects were meshed together —and a story unfolds for the viewer. It was appealing because one could feel a sense of innocence just from briefly viewing the art piece.

The gallery itself has a relaxed ambience and the placement of the art work created an easy flow for the viewer to move from art piece to art piece. Although attendance was low, it is definitely an exhibit worth attending.

The art pieces provoke many different forms of thought ranging from wondering where all of the pieces came from to figuring out the deeper meaning of each piece.

Because of the late  notice of this exhibition, only seven pieces were submitted and accepted, but the quality of the work was exceptional. This smaller exhibition also allows for the viewer to give each art piece a lot of attention and time for in-depth thought.

“Fantastic Rubbish” will be open to the public in the John Dunn Gourmet Dining Room until Friday, May 6.