The vast majority of students visit University Hall at the University of Massachusetts Boston for classes. Some attend the student performances of plays and dance routines or the occasional cultural event in the recital halls. Perhaps they end up here in search for food. However, tucked away beneath the staircase lies the University Hall Gallery, one of two art galleries on campus. I’m a long standing museum and art gallery enthusiast, so naturally I was intrigued upon discovering its existence. I’m thrilled to have attended the reception honoring the present exhibition, “Current,” composed of works by artists Kenji Nakayama and Pat Falco. 
Nakayama was born in 1979 in Hokkaido, Japan. He moved to Boston a little over a decade ago in order to pursue his art, despite his educational background in mechanical engineering.
Falco is eight years Nakayama’s junior, born in Boston in 1987. He eventually attended the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and has worked on public interventions and installations in locations across the city, such as Faneuil Hall. 
The exhibit opened its doors on Nov. 10, so there is a possibility that you may have already had the opportunity to poke your head inside the gallery and take a brief stroll. If you haven’t, however, I would strongly recommend taking an hour out of your day to do so. 
The University Hall Gallery is a smaller, more intimate space, but this served to give the exhibition a greater impact on the viewer. The walls of the room were crowded with an assortment of pieces, each of the colors equally vibrant. Posters preaching slogans such as “the change we need now, never,” “it was the worst of times and it was the worst of times,” and other repetitions of childish wordplay overlapped each other in various colors on the crowded walls. A wide assortment of mediums were used, ranging from cloth banners and paper to card stock.
Different tools were used for the art as well. There were drawings in colored pencil, pastel crayons, charcoal sketches, acrylic paints, and prints. Nakayama and Falco did not even neglect the glass portion of the wall, decorating it in a complex interwoven Sanskrit mural. Overall, this contributed to a very eclectic, chaotic atmosphere, but not so much so that one might be overwhelmed. Instead, I found myself interested in reading every little word of each poster. Everything seemed to spark my curiosity. Closer to the floor, old televisions grainy with static were stacked on tables; uniform tin cans were arranged in rows and columns.
The reasoning behind this, I later discovered, was that the whole concept of “Current” was a work in progress. Nakayama and Falco were still working on pieces for the gallery, utilizing the space as a studio, so that the exhibit would embody its name. In the time since its opening, the room has evolved, and will continue to do so until the showing ends on Jan. 5. Students can go and see art in action—there is even a table at the center of the room where visitors can create and contribute to the exhibit. This unique compilation is the very definition of contemporary, and anyone who enjoys a trip to the art museum should definitely stop in, soak up some art, and perhaps make some themselves.