Painting by Mary Thiefels, on right.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, 555 Gallery opened their latest juried show, appropriately titled “Show Love” and coincidentally featuring an entirely female lineup of regional college students, including Jennifer Belair, Sohpie Grillet, Eva Leventer, Molly Mitchell, Mary Thiefels and Erika Villarreal.

Above, Uncover by Erika Villarreal, one in a series (below).

Villarreal’s work ran across an entire wall of the gallery; a set of photographic tableaux staged by the artist and her husband that sought to explore the non-verbal communication patterns between them as a couple.

“Heavy Load” by Molly Mitchell.

“Heart to Heart” by Molly Mitchell.

Mitchell works on display were primarily centered around salvaged discard, which included shoe heels and bits of leather in various stages of desiccation. The work was highly evocative — half-jewelry, half-sculpture, and all with the heavy patina of history, like a faded doll.

“Man, Woman, Moon” by Sophie Grillet.

Grillet’s contributions were some lovely abstract canvases in hotly contrasting colors, which revealed increasingly concrete images the longer they were observed. The work of Jennifer Belair is likewise revelatory; a wall of layer-collage pieces in which images are built through the progressive stacking of layers of tracing paper continue to yield new configurations the longer you look at them.

Detail (above) from a piece by Jennifer Belair.

Overall, an interesting collection of work from established and upcoming artists, and an appropriate V-Day activity for the art-lover in your life.

555 Gallery: 2801 W. Vernor Hwy., Detroit; 888-495-ARTS ; www.555arts.org