Clovis High students display art in new professional gallery space

Clovis High students are getting an unusual kind of visibility this spring: their art is hanging in a professional gallery space inside a Clovis business office, not just on campus walls.

Bush Construction transformed blank office space at its Clovis location, 2056 Shaw Ave., into The Circle Gallery by adding professional gallery rails and extra lighting. The company said it opened the office to grow its team and support trainings and company events, and this month it turned that same space into a public exhibition for Clovis High School artists.

The show includes painting, ceramics, photography and digital work, giving the exhibit a broader feel than a single classroom display. The opening reception drew more than 200 guests, a turnout that underscored how far the students’ work traveled beyond the usual school setting.

The partnership started when Phil Dietz, Bush Construction’s vice president of business development, reached out to Clovis High photography teacher Doug Adrian with the idea of using the company’s office as the venue. That move gave students a platform in a commercial setting where clients, employees and visitors could see the work as they came through the building.

One of the standout pieces came from senior Vy Nyguen, whose photography captured family moments during a Vietnamese New Year celebration in Vietnam. The image carried added weight because it reflected the first time in years that her whole family had been together for the holiday, making the work personal as well as visually striking.

The exhibit will remain on display through May before it is replaced with new student pieces for another showcase. Dietz said Bush Construction hopes to continue the partnership and possibly expand it to more students and additional career technical education pathways, a sign the company sees the gallery as more than a one-time gesture.

For Clovis Unified, the project fits a pattern of putting student creativity in public view. In 2024, the district worked with the Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health on a student-art billboard project tied to mental-health awareness, extending school art into community spaces with a wider audience.

This latest collaboration gives Clovis High artists the kind of professional exposure that can be hard to find before graduation. In a city where school and business networks often shape early opportunities, The Circle Gallery is now giving student work a place to be seen, discussed and remembered.