Two exhibitions organized by students enrolled in UNL’s “The Body in Modern and Contemporary Art” class open Nov. 8 in the Eisentrager•Howard Gallery in Richards Hall. The class is led by Marissa Vigneault, assistant professor of practice.

Both exhibits — ”A Body Responds to a Body” and “The (multi) Pliable Body” — are open through Nov. 22. An opening reception is 5 to 7 p.m. Nov. 8 in the gallery.

“A Body Responds to a Body” includes work by current UNL Master of Fine Arts students created in response to paintings currently on display in the Sheldon Museum of Art’s permanent collection gallery.

The artists, working in a variety of media including painting, ceramics, photography and printmaking, each chose one work from the Sheldon. Current Master of Arts students in art history and English wrote accompanying text elaborating on the connections between the pieces.

Paintings featured include Edward Hopper’s “Room in New York” and Mark Rothko’s “Yellow Band.”

The exhibit includes work by students Alexandra Alberda, Avi Arenfeld, Amanda Breitbach, Patricia Davis, Meryl Engler, Keith Graham, Chadric Harms, Allen Morris, Liana Owad, Erin Schoenbeck, Adrienne Smart, Kelly Stading, Hiromi Stephens, Joyce Taylor and Gabe Valdez. The writings are by Sade’ Ayorinde, Britiany Dougherty, Eric Himmelberger, Edwardo Rios and Paula Rotschafer.

The second exhibition, “The (multi) Pliable Body,” features recent and new work by UNL Master of Fine Arts alumnae Victoria Hoyt, Emma Nishimura and Ying Zhu.

Each artist, while vastly different in their approach, is united through reference to the pliable nature of the body, both physically and psychologically.

Hoyt employs acrylic, gouache, watercolor and ink in the creation of her large paintings on paper, which suggest the subversive and transformative efforts of the body. Nishimura’s installation Vestige includes 13 diaphanous paper garments suspended from the ceiling, echoing the forms of bodies that were once there and now can’t quite be remembered. Zhu’s Sad People Dance Too incorporates fabric, thread and a mirror, inviting the viewer to move their body around the piece while catching a glimpse of their own fragmented self in reflective surface.

The exhibition includes essays on the work by art history students Jeri Dobos, Jacqueline Spackman and Archana Verma.

The Eisentrager•Howard Gallery is located on the first floor of Richards Hall. Gallery hours are 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Admission is free and open to the public.

For more information, go to the gallery website or call 402-472-5522.