The annual Upper School Art Exhibition commenced during long lunch today with the distribution of prizes to 12 student artists.

The exhibition, which continues until May 24, showcases more than 150 pieces in various genres such as paintings, ceramics, advanced photography, 3-D models, and sketches. Teachers and student peers alike marveled at the canvassed pieces displayed in the Nichols Hall Atrium gallery.

For drawing, seniors Lynda Tang and Emily Wang placed first and second respectively. Lynda also won first prize for painting, followed by Svetlana Petrova (12) in second. Senior Eric Swenson placed first in photography, while seniors Tiphaine Delepine and Jasmine Gill tied for second prize. For graphic arts and digital drawing, senior Simon Orr placed first, followed by both Megan Prakash (11) and Daniel Wang (12) in second. Senior Jessica Son won both first and second prizes for sculpture. Senior Amanda Kalb won first prize for ceramics, followed by Elizabeth Bettencourt (10). The Best In Show award was presented to Simon.

This year’s juror was Ace Lehner, an artist, arts and culture writer, and art educator based in Oakland, CA. In judging the works, she looked for technical proficiency, critical engagement or inspiration, and most importantly originality.

“The final, and in some ways, most important criteria by which I considered the artwork was originality-work that was fresh, engaging and unique rose above its competitors,” she said.

Many students participated in the event, including both creators and visitors.

“I liked the variety of pieces that were there. I saw a lot of different styles and media being used to express different ideas,” said Doreene Kang (9), who plans to take more art classes in the next few years.

The event is the culmination of many students’ year long efforts in various art classes such as ceramics, drawing, graphic arts, photography, and sculptures.

“This is our exhibition of great artworks from this year’s art classes,” said Pilar Aguero-Esparza, who teaches fine arts courses and is responsible for the “behind the scenes” work for the exhibition. “The event was primarily a showcase showing the best of the the year.”

Although the showcase had many pieces on display from various student artists, it differed from a professional art exhibition.

“I have been to professional art exhibitions, and of course, they can’t be compared in a lot of ways,” photographer Eric said. “The installment space and setups are much more advanced, but considering what we have to make do with, it turned out quite well.”

The exhibition also featured food, DJ music, and “Face” cake to attract more students to the works of their peers.