Modern would be one word to describe the Annual Student Art Exhibition.

The exhibition is being displayed in the Atkinson Gallery. The white walls of the gallery are filled with drawings and paintings of student work.

It’s evident that every single piece, which is done by the students, was chosen for the show for a reason.

The Atkinson Gallery opened its doors at 5 p.m. Friday to begin the display. The gallery was filled with natural light. It was summer-warm, but that may have been due to all of the people who came to view the artwork.

There was variety within the work. Some of the pieces were sculptures, others were paintings. There were drawings and semi-interactive pieces that captured the audience’s attention as they walked by.

As I walked around and looked at the art, three pieces in particular caught my eye.

The first work were these two acrylic and glitter paintings called “Transient” by Megan Kagiyama. The art was connected because they were of the same subject, just in different poses.

This piece was one of my favorites because of its simplicity.

The painting is of a black or brown girl with a headscarf wrapped around her head. She’s holding a flower in both paintings. In the first painting, the girl is holding a flower in front of her face. Glitter, or what I must assume is pollen, is coming out of it.

In the second painting, the girl has the same flower in front of her face. Except this time, there are flowers on her head scarf.

I liked this series because there was a feeling of carefreeness about it that could not be ignored. In black and brown social media, there’s been a movement going on for black and brown people to be “carefree.” In my interpretation, this whole movement has been about embracing one’s beauty and vulnerability.

For me, these paintings embodied that feeling with the flower and the headscarf.

My second favorite piece was a charcoal drawing called ‘Nude” by Angelica Rose. The drawing is in black and white and is of a naked woman laying on the floor with her legs propped up against the wall.

This piece was very vague but also vulnerable at the same time. For a lot of people, being naked means to be vulnerable, and for a lot of people that’s a scary thing. It made me wonder if the artist had a model or if they used their imagination.

It was also a pose of absolute relaxation and openness. The girl has her legs propped against the wall, the way so many of us have been so many times.

My third favorite piece was a drawing called “The Atmospheric Moment” by Mei Miyasaka. The piece is of a giant pair of headphones floating across the mountain and rivers. It reminded me of the way that music can take you to another place entirely if the song is good or if you have memories with the music—something of that nature. It’s a reminder that music is one of the best ways to transport yourself elsewhere.

Overall, the show was really interesting. All of the pieces looked like they belonged in a gallery and the judge’s decision making reflected that.