Three St. Thomas seniors displayed their art work at the Catherine G. Murphy Gallery art show Saturday at St. Catherine University.

Seniors Kayla Thoma, Laura Wiering and Ann Speltz had multiple pieces in the show. Their work ranged from hanging sculptures to acrylic paintings.

“Everyone has their own style for whatever they like to do,” Wiering said. The exhibit was juried and St. Kate’s faculty members chose which pieces made the cut. St. Kate’s students also had pieces in the show.

“We each submit 10 to 20 pieces, and the faculty selects five to 10 of what they think are the strongest from that,” Wiering said.

St. Thomas does not have a studio arts program, so these three seniors have spent a lot of time in the St. Kate’s studio. Speltz said going to a different campus doesn’t bother her.

“It’s kind of nice to get away and do my thing over here,” she said.

Speltz’s work was recognizably St. Paul-influenced. A few of her paintings depicted St. Paul houses during winter.

“I used bright colors to kind of loosen the concrete value of the the actual house,” Speltz said.

The inspiration for one of Thoma’s paintings was more sobering. Her boyfriend was attacked on the Fourth of July a few years ago, and she was moved by the photos he took of himself after the mugging.

“I asked him after the mugging … ‘Can I paint you?’ I was captivated by that image,” Thoma said.

Thoma took the photograph and used acrylic paints to recreate the serious image.

“It was just so striking and what that all conveys about not just him as a person but the way things are,” she said.

The exhibit runs through May 22 at St. Kate’s.

Drew Landon can be reached land7305@stthomas.edu.