Floating mini-bicyclist renderings ascending to the ceiling of the Fine Arts Gallery greet visitors at the opening of the 19th annual Leo D. Stillwell Exhibition, where SF State's most talented artists display various works in all type of media.

Consisting of three different shows, the Stillwell exhibit begins with the annual showing of work by artist Leo D. Stillwell himself. The second portion of the show features the undergraduate work juried by an exhibition design class where 143 pieces were up for review.

The undergraduate portion of the show is a chance for students, including non-art majors, to have their work on exhibition. Pieces submitted are either featured in the Stillwell exhibition, with second-place works running concurrently in the aptly named Salon Des Refuses exhibit on display in the Martin Wong Gallery.

The third portion showcases selected work from second-year Master of Fine Arts students.

"Different students have a better chance to get their artwork featured in these exhibits because there are two [exhibits]," says Sharon Bliss, Stillwell Exhibit coordinator. "It [the exhibit] is different than others because of the judging portion by their peers."

Having only one prerequisite to enter - and that is that the artist be enrolled in an art class - this show has artists pushing themselves in order to stand out from the crowd with their different ideas.

"I actually wanted this piece in there," says Martin Cooper, referring to his sculpture called the "Mean Green F------ Machine," that requires him to stand outdoors cranking wooden troughs attached to a base into a mid-air circle that pours water into other troughs, then onto the ground. "My work in the actual Stillwell is not my favorite. I only had two weeks to work on that one. This piece is a commentary on the ridiculousness of green culture."

The Salon Des Refuses, which features the artwork of students whose art didn't make it into the Stillwell exhibition, also gives students a chance to really stand out and has a different aura around it.

"The idea of the Salon Des Refuses has such antiquity, although these pieces have been rejected by the jurors...historically, a lot of great pieces came out of there so I'm pretty excited to have a piece featured in this exhibit," says Jessica Ricasata, a fourth-year art and dance major with previous experience showing previous Salon Des Refuses.