Neptune House is back — this time, trading the runway for the gallery. On Saturday, Feb. 22, Loft39 on Manhattan’s West 39th Street hosted a night of student creativity from all corners of the country. 14 emerging artists from Parsons School of Design, New York University, Dartmouth, and Savannah College of Art and Design exhibited evocative paintings, intricate drawings and sculptures, and bold photography, offering a multi-dimensional exploration of traditional and experimental mediums of art. 

With a live jazz band to set the mood, a lively cocktail hour at 5 p.m. warmed up the crowd ahead of the main showing from 6 to 8 p.m. It was a night where creativity and culture collided, with student work in the limelight. 

Founded and curated by Aashriya Dinesh, a second-year Strategic Design and Management student at Parsons School of Design, her vision for Neptune House stands as a collaborative platform that brings together creatives from all fields. “We always knew our next event would be an art show of some kind … I really wanted this to be something that’s across all schools … connecting people from all disciplines and areas,” Dinesh said. 

For Drew Schoenhofer, a third-year New York University student, photography is world-building. Rooted in nostalgia, her piece Queen of Coney I-Lander captures a subject in bold red and dramatic makeup, momentarily pausing beneath the neon glow of a yellow and red Coney I-Lander sign. Like stepping out for a breath of fresh air, she exists in a hazy in-between — a fading memory that is just out of reach. 

“I wanted to create a scene … I’m a drama major, so I just love to create worlds within my shoots,” Schoenhofer said. “I just kind of want there to be distinct characters that are almost familiar, but heightened in a way, so you can just feel like, oh, I’ve seen this person, you know. I feel like there’s just something almost nostalgic about it.” 

For Poppy Thomas, an NYU studio art student, ceramics is a way to reclaim history. Inspired by the Babylonian goddess Inanna, her work explores how women’s identities have been shaped and distorted through centuries of retelling. She works in clay, a medium she values for its malleability and permanence. “It’s just mud, but it’s forever,” she said. By contrasting ancient engravings with 19th-century British depictions of Babylonian women, Thomas hides subtle details in her pieces, rewarding those who take the time to look closer. 

For Matthew Cosgrove, a second-year painting student at Savannah College of Art and Design, the transition from small-town life to an art school filled with like-minded creatives felt nothing short of transformative. His piece, Leaving Town, captures that exact feeling — a toy horse bursting through torn paper, a metaphor for his own growth.  

“After going to Savannah [SCAD], I kind of leaned more into a western cowboy vibe with my personal expression. I feel like coming into myself could be represented by a horse, and having it be a toy horse still has that playful, youthful feeling — where I’m not concretely myself yet … this is definitely a milestone for myself,” Cosgrove explained. This piece is both an ode to his own transformation and a reflection of finding artistic freedom.  

Parsons student Aww Myat May takes a sharply defiant approach in her digital drawing I’m Not a Piece of MEAT! In a surreal self-portrait, she depicts a woman on a plate clutching her sides while hovering hands with utensils encircle her — a biting critique of the reduction of women to mere objects. 

May sought to create a more visceral description, exposing the unsettling reality of women being viewed as objects for consumption. The piece demands discomfort, forcing viewers to question their own perceptions before the meaning clicks into place. “I wanted the viewer to be confused … I wanted it to be a piece that draws you in … but you don’t really know what’s going on,” May said. “And then once you read it, especially for women … I want them to be like, exactly.”

After months of curating and collaborating with professors and peers, the team transformed Loft39 into an intimate, exploratory space where students took center stage — many exhibiting their work for the first time. Neptune House continuously serves as a platform for students to be seen, heard, and taken seriously. 

“Go big or go home,” Dinesh said — a fitting mantra for a night where emerging artists claimed their space. 

“This is what art is for … everyone is in this room and interacting with each other … all of these paintings are stories and people are here tonight to celebrate those stories and experiences.” 

At its core, art remains the ultimate conversation starter.