Students and faculty have banded together in the name of artistic expression for the Jack Olson Gallery’s BFA Show, the exhibition featuring senior artwork in studio and design.

The event, which runs through May 13, has been held twice a year for the last three years, said Larry Gregory, assistant director for the School of Art. The exhibition helps students in the School of Arts program see the types of work they will be doing for their senior projects, Gregory said. It is also a chance for the school to show the university what students have been doing.

“[We] also use it for assessment – assessing what students learn and acquire in the program,” he said. Students are not paid for having their work on display. Participation in the exhibition is a degree requirement for seniors, said Adrian Tio, director for the School of Art.

The number of those who participate depends upon who is graduating that year, Tio said. The number can be as few as 10, Tio said. About 30 graduating seniors have work on display this year, said Ann O’Brien, acting coordinator for the Olsen Gallery.

“We noticed it was bigger than last spring and last fall,” O’Brien said. “It’s a nice show.”

This year’s exhibition is “strong,” said Michael Barnes, associate professor for the School of Art, and it represents the “diversity, talent and creativity present in the School of Art.”

For many students, the BFA Exhibition marks the first exhibiting of their work, said Karen Brown, assistant professor of art. It is also “an opportunity to experience the role of the audience in the life of the artwork,” Brown said.

“Each year offers a different feel from other years, with the work reflecting the ever-changing personalities and individual voices that come through our program – this is what makes it exciting,” Barnes said.

John Senseney, assistant professor of art history, said the exhibition was thought provoking. The show is important because it is a chance for artists to showcase their visual expression and personal reactions of their community and the world, he said.

“I found the works compelling, daring, controversial and fascinating on a conceptual level,” Senseney said. “We have some real contemporary artists around here.”

The show is a good mix of all the majors, O’Brien said. The pieces include such forms as metal work, painting, photography, textiles, sculpture and ceramics. The exhibition usually sees “a lot of traffic,” O’Brien said. There were around 200 people at Thursday’s show reception.

“I did expect a big crowd and it was actually bigger than I anticipated,” O’Brien said. “The people attending the reception were very engaged with the art.”

Senior painting major Marissa Berohas one of her photographs on display – a view of the interior of one of her sculptures. She wanted “to create [the] illusion of an environment,” as if a person was looking into some “strange” environment, she said.

“I’m interested in visualizing internal environments that reflect exterior environments,” Bero said. Bero likes to do all sorts of things with respect to art and “see how many ways you can express an idea in many mediums.”

Bero said she is excited to see how much her peers in studios and classes have grown as artists. It is exciting to see “how each person’s work has evolved over the last few years,” she said.

Jeff Basile, a senior studio art fibers major, is glad he had the opportunity to be in the show. Basile has six pieces in the exhibit dealing with text and lettering art, everything from knitting to three-dimensional soft sculpture. The works deal with Basile’s experiences growing up as a gay man.

The U.S. culture relies on art, Basile said. Without art – and without funding for it – society becomes a society for the masses and not individuals. Art adds personality and individuality, he said.

“Without [art], people are really boring,” he said.

Barnes said art is all around people in life.

“The contemporary art world is particularly exciting, as there is a place for nearly anything to happen,” Barnes said. “It is a wonderful time to be an artist.”

When people visit the BFA Show, they should think to themselves, “‘This doesn’t just happen,’” Brown said in reference to the work involved in the show.

“Students and faculty have worked together closely, with intelligence and good heart and tears, as these fine students and their exciting, intelligent and competent work demonstrates,” she said.