Enter Zoller Gallery and you see a huge series of monochromatic faces painted on a white background. You turn and notice a ceramic sculpture of intertwined bodies. Look to your right and a huge sculpture composed of string, rope and velvet catches your eye.

The diverse exhibit you are viewing is the Undergraduate Juried Exhibition, which includes the work of 78 competitors. The School of Visual Arts holds the exhibition annually to recognize outstanding work done by undergraduate students.

Until March 12 you have the opportunity to view this exhibit, called, "a visual testament of contemporary experience," by Saul Ostrow, art editor of Bomb Magazine.

Ostrow, also the associate professor of art and art history and director of the Center of Visual Arts and Culture at the University of Connecticut, is the juror of the exhibition.

The pieces, handpicked by Ostrow, have been done in virtually any media imaginable, including charcoal and pastel drawings, wood and metal sculpture, acrylic and oil paintings, digital and lens photography, linoleum block prints and even video performance.

Due to the great variety of work done by the students, Ostrow evaluated the pieces according to how well the artist succeeded in meeting his or her goal.

In a statement to the viewers, Ostrow explains how he chose pieces for the exhibit. "I responded strongest to those pieces in which materials, subject and content seemed inseparable," Ostrow explained.

The artists' motivations are as varying as the media they chose. Jesse Colaizzi (junior-integrative arts) says his piece, "Untitled #3," is using "photography to show a period of time at once." Colaizzi chose a shutter speed that allowed him to expose the film for a quarter of a second. "My goal was to show time in relation to architecture and the people around it," he said.

Two of Ed Zeiler's photographs were chosen for the show. "Streets of New York" is a photograph he took after being "fascinated by lights and energy" of Times Square. The other, entitled "Alexis" is based on fashion.

In an awards reception that was held last Thursday, Zeiler, Melissa Steingrabe, Alexandra Sullivan, Bob Schlamp and Matthew Gordon were each awarded $100 for art supplies. David Nguyen received a $500 scholarship for his pieces "Quantum Chromdynamics" and "Screen Test 2," both oil paintings.

Zeiler was pleased with the work of all the pieces selected. "I am very impressed with the quality of the show," he said.

Other students feel that the undergraduate exhibition is an exciting change from the usual displays featured on campus.

"I think to see students' work is incredible," Lisa Ney (junior-letters, arts and sciences) said.