Tonight in UNI’s Gallery of Art, the Bachelor of Fine Arts, or B.F.A., group exhibition will be revealed to the public. An opening reception will begin at 7 p.m.

Three students will be highlighted: Eden Bell for painting, Rylie Lawrence for printmaking and Rachael “Ray” Smith for painting. Ken Hall, a professor of art, coordinated the spring 2018 exhibition, which will be on display through May 5.

Bell said she is excited and nervous to show her work to the public at the exhibition.

“I hope that people see something that interests them and entices them to take a moment longer to look. Maybe they laugh, but then to come away thinking about some of the more serious issues that I’m trying to talk about,” Bell said. “My show’s called ‘Sugarcoat,’ so it’s kind of taking a light-hearted approach to pull people in, and then punches them with the reality of it.”

Bell’s exhibit takes a more humorous approach at tough ideas by using bright and attractive colors. She said that by using shiny and colorful plexiglass in her paintings, the viewer’s eye is caught and is invited to take a deeper look at the meaning behind her work.

Lawrence’s exhibit is titled “Carry On.” She said she hopes that the feeling and meaning she put into her work will be seen by everyone who attends the show.

“I have a few large pieces that I want to portray a specific kind of feeling, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out with the viewers,” Lawrence said. “The subject matter of a lot of my pieces focuses on the turning point I had during my work. I began the process making work about what was going on in my life and the different hardships I experienced.”

Lawrence described her exhibit as being full of emotion and a demonstration of her thought process throughout her time in the B.F.A. program.

“I really enjoy the process of art, and how you can really express yourself through these different things,” Lawrence said. “I made it so my art wasn’t so much about these experiences that I was having, but more helping me get through these experiences and reflecting on them.”

Lawrence, along with other students involved in the B.F.A. program, received guidance from numerous professors in the department.

Hall has been coordinating the B.F.A. program in the art department for nearly seven years. He said his goal is to make sure that the program is strong and visible amongst the numerous great programs offered at UNI.

“From the administrative end, I help to organize the B.F.A. Open Studio events, promote the program to freshman students in the Foundation Symposium and get the word out to current students who may want to apply,” Hall said. “I get to work with Darrell Taylor, the UNI Gallery Director, and each group of graduating B.F.A. seniors to make sure that they are on track to have a successful B.F.A. exhibition.”

Hall says that the most challenging part of being the B.F.A. coordinator is knowing when to offer help to the students and when to stay out of their way.