Over fifty students, professors, pre-frosh and parents visited the Zilkha Gallery on Wednesday for the opening reception of seven senior art theses. The exhibits consist of three architecture, two painting, one drawing, and one fashion design. The artists were seniors Kathryn Bryant, Alex Muller, Teddy O’Connor, Cassandre Pallas, Sara Ross, Tal Rozen and Emma Rose Silverman.

Sara Ross’ fashion design exhibit drew a lot of attention from the milling crowd. Exploring the techniques of wrapping, the four pieces were uniquely assembled. The outfits hung in the center of the room, and surrounding them were photographs and a video recording which displayed Ross wearing the outfits. After seeing these artistic directions, the crowd could view the outfits with a new eye.

Cassandre Pallas’ conceptual architecture piece showcased Wesleyan facts through art. From a distance, the pieces looked like modern art exhibits, but when viewed up close, they conveyed information about the Wesleyan public. One survey conducted by Pallas asked where couples had first met, how long they had been dating, and where they were living now. Using a map of campus as the baseboard, Pallas erected metal poles, whose heights corresponded to the length of a relationship, on the site of meeting. Then two wooden planks went from the tip of the pole to their current housing. The effect was a mesh of vertical and horizontal triangles, simplistic and yet complex.

“I was trying to show order creating chaos,” Pallas said. “It’s loose architecture—creating forms with space.”

The two painting exhibits were also distinct. Rozen’s had realistic, photograph-like paintings all done in subdued dark colors. Most featured faces or domestic scenes, but one natural painting done in blues stood out. Silverman’s painting exhibit, on the other hand, featured modernist still-lifes. Much more fantastical than the other exhibits, the brightly-colored paintings appeared to convey stronger messages or themes than the other exhibits.

The seven exhibits, although prepared by unique artists, together contributed to an exhilarating event on Wednesday. The air was a buzz with conversation, and the artists were mingling throughout the crowd.

“I haven’t seen anyone for ages,” Pallas said. “The whole process has been grueling, but everyone’s been so helpful. We’re all in this together.”