Rusty red landscapes adorned with sienna plateaus, bronze mesas and golden sun rays grace the walls of the Multicultural Center these days.

Studio art sophomore Domingo Carreon is the creative genius behind 25 paintings and sketches displayed in the Multicultural Center, located in the Union Basement. Carreon’s exhibit was presented to the public mid-November and will remain in the center until the semester’s end.

Carreon describes his work as a “journey through life,” inspired by real life.

“The way I see it, we should take time to think about the people we have lost as well as the new ones that are being born,” he said.

The focal point of Carreon’s exhibit is a mural titled “Unity.” The light of the world illuminates people of various cultures in the mural, which was painted on four adjoined canvasses that wrap a large pillar at the center’s entrance. The mural is one of only three pieces of the display that will remain in the center.

Carreon is no stranger to displaying his artwork. Among others, his paintings have been exhibited in the Lansing Art Gallery, 425 S. Grand Ave., Lansing’s Copper Moon Gallery, and the university’s 1999 Dia de la Mujer Conference.

Maggie Chen Hernandez, Multicultural Center coordinator, has known Carreon since he started attending the university and said she’s always been impressed by his work.

“I just really thought he was a ‘wow’ type of talent,” she said.

Chen Hernandez said Carreon brought in his paintings for her to see. It didn’t take long for her to want to purchase one for the center.

“I said, ‘Oh my God, this is gorgeous,’” she said. “I just had to buy it for the center.”

She later asked Carreon to create the center’s mural. She said all the responses she’s heard about the exhibit have been very positive.

“I think people really love the artwork and I think they’re intrigued by the various images,” she said. “They take the extra time to stop, go around the pillar and take it all in.”

The artwork also provides a sense of tranquility to the center which allows students to take refuge from a stressful day, Chen Hernandez said.

“I think of his artwork as beautiful sophistication,” she said. “It’s not only aesthetically pleasing, but people just pause when they look at it and say ‘Wow.’ It’s just breathtaking, and there’s a great sense of peace and solace while you’re looking at them.”

Marisa Cruz, a Lyman Briggs School microbiology and pre-med junior, said she believes the artwork brings life to the Multicultural Center, an office which she says she visits nearly every day.

“I like them,” she said of the paintings. “It has a lot of interpretation and a lot of room for imagination, but it’s also very expressive.”

And while he sees his work as the journey from life to death, Carreon said he hopes everyone who views his work will come up with an interpretation that they find meaningful.

“I just want them to enjoy it,” he said. “From there it’s pretty open. You can have any idea you want about them. That’s just my take on it.”