The Dreitzer Gallery was packed on May 3 for the opening of the Senior Art Show. The show opening was a true gala indeed as the crowd sipped on wine and munched on cheese, cookies and crudits as they admired the art. The exhibition, also on display in the Slosberg and Shapiro Campus Center, encompassed a wide assortment of final projects including paintings, sculptures and mixed media that each succeeded in captivating and commanding the attention of those in attendance. The majority of the paintings were large, luminous canvases that were abstract in their use of color and form. The abstract works that were among the most successful were those compositions created with a certain intention or central theme, as seen with Michelle Lee's '04 religiously inspired paintings. The tonal arrangements in her paintings, including "New Light" and "Psalm 130," showed a deep understanding how to unite subject matter and composition into meaningful, stirring pieces. Amanda Lohnes' '04 series of provocative, yet striking nudes in her paintings such as "Satisfaction" and "Photo Session" provided some of the more unique art in the exhibition. Lohnes' figures literally glowed, awash in beautiful, bold strokes of color that demonstrated her skill as a painter.

The sculptors in the exhibition showed off their creative mindsets. Pieces were produced from all types of materials ranging from origami flowers to a static television and training potty. Alasdair Post-Quinn's '05 multimedia piece, "Why Don't I Play the Guitar" literally made music while gallery goers were invited to sit on Ari Teman's '05 steel lounge chair piece, titled "Sit On This."

Unfortunately, the narrow display space of Dreitzer Galley did not do justice to the creative efforts of the students involved. Also, in many cases, a student's collection of work was split up throughout the gallery, forcing the viewer to search throughout the exhibition for works by their favorite artist. In addition, this arrangement also made it difficult to draw connections within an artist's series of work. For example, Alison Beker's '04 "Beads" series examined subtle variation of yellow. However, such slight differences were hard to trace with her canvases displayed in separate areas of the gallery. Despite the poor planning in display, the Senior Art Show was a great testament to the hard work the fine arts students have done throughout the year and their future creative potential.