Matthew Hillyard, a Butler alum, returned to showcase his talent with 35 pieces and one video at the EB White Art Gallery in the 700 Building.

This show features his favorite piece, “HATE U,” He selected this piece to dedicate to all of his ex-boyfriends. The topic of the collections elaborates on the theme of the show, which shows the choice of material he used to draw this exhibit together.

“It took months to get this exhibition together,” Matthew Hillyard said. “I’m very prolific in my studio practice, so I picked and chose works for this exhibition.”

Hillyard has shown his collections throughout the years at Butler, Newman and other exhibits in the city. For young artists, he got his inspiration from his high school art teacher.

“Keep doing the work; never stop,” Hillyard said. “Recently, my high school art teacher passed away, Mr. Terry. He always told me to ‘Keep your nose to the grindstone, and [you] could be a good artist.’”