A 22-foot wall, dedicated solely to the artwork of one high school senior. Matt Szymkowicz didn’t seek out his possible career as an artist, it just seemed to find him, like his art itself.

Szymkowicz is not a typical painter or sculptor, though. He practices a kind of art different than seen by most.

“Basically to make a piece, what I do is take multiple photos of any subject and I layer them on top of each other,” Szymkowicz said. “I can alter the color and saturation and contrast to make it look abstract, and not real.”

Yet, Szymkowicz’s work doesn’t end with his altering digital photos.

“Digital photography, mixed mediums,” Szymkowicz said. “I plaster photography onto a mat board and then extend the photo using colored pencils or markers onto the board it’s mounted on.”

His art has taken off in a short period of time, as mixed digital medium has not always been the taste of Szymkowicz.

“It was mostly just Mr. (Brian) Guilfoyle’s class,” Szymkowicz said. “I was doing photography for his class and that’s where I got the idea, and I’ve just been keeping it going.”

Szymkowicz’s talented work has turned some heads. He recently earned his own, invitation only, four-week gallery exhibit at Framin’ Place, a custom frame shop located in Four Seasons shopping center, near school.

“This local frame shop hosts a personal artist for each month of the year and they get their own gallery and he frames their work,” Szymkowicz said. “It’s like a mutual agreement; he gets a chance of selling frames and I get a chance of selling art.”

Barry Luedloff, art and conservation consultant at the Framin’ Place, organizes the artists invited to be featured.

Luedloff noted that the shop hosts local and regional artists, a long with “up-and-comers,” like Szymkowicz.

“[His portfolio] was the thing that kind of interested me because it was this whole thing about overlapping photographs,” Luedloff said. “I saw that he had matted one of his pieces. Then, on the mat he had actually done just artwork that expanded the photography, which I thought was brilliant.”

Yet, it was not through work of his own that Szymkowicz landed his gallery gig. Luedloff first discussed the artist’s arrangement with his mother.

“She went there to get something framed, and she noticed there was a gallery for local artists,” Szymkowicz said. “She talked to the owner and he said he was interested after she showed him my stuff.”

Szymkowicz is a rarity at Framin’ Place, however.

“We’ve only had two other photographers in the seven-plus years I’ve been doing this,” Luedloff said.

Szymkowicz’s rapid rise may have surprised some, but it stood as no surprise to his former teacher.

“I knew right away when I had Matt in class that he was very creative,” photo teacher Brian Guilfoyle said. “He goes above and beyond on his pieces, to the point where he’s spending more time on that piece than most students spend to get two or three projects done.”

In this extensive time period, Szymkowicz permits his creative side to take off.

“He’s just exploring that creative side of it,” Guilfoyle said. “As he draws it out, he’s balancing it and figuring it out, and if it doesn’t work out, then he scraps it and goes back and tries again. As an artist, he’s trying to figure out what his voice is, and he doesn’t settle for anything less.”

The subject used by Szymkowicz in his art mirrors his medium, as it differs from the typical as well.

“Most of the things we have, you can tell immediately what they are about because they are simple; they’re recognizable characters,” Luedloff said. “The thing about Matt is, you have to actually look at the artwork to see the images. One photograph, you’re recognizing it’s all of one hue, and then you have something juxtaposition on it, totally differently, with a different hue. They can’t really see a definite form and say ‘Oh, that’s a tree’ or a car or a house’. It’s more about the color in the movement.”

While the artwork is defined by its abstract images and ranging colors, it is not impossible to discover.

“Matt’s got both things working for him,” Luedloff said. “The images that you recognize are there, but you have to really look for them. Once you do, you see things in a different light and that’s what makes his artwork so interesting.”

A gallery display devoted to their work is not a regular occurrence for high school seniors, and according to Guilfoyle, it can cause major maturation.

“I think anytime you put your artwork up in front of other people and they are critiquing it and looking at it, it makes you a more confident, stronger artist,” Guilfoyle said. ”For somebody his age, it shows a lot of confidence and a lot of courage to be able to do that.”

While Szymkowicz plans to attend art school after graduation, he sees a different effect from his gallery.

“I really just want to get myself out there a little bit,” Szymkowicz said. “It helps to make money, but it also helps to just kind of get the word around that there’s somebody doing a different type of art than what most people see around.”

While the gallery helps Szymkowicz today, Guilfoyle says it serves a great purpose for his future as an artist as well.

“Matt’s a very talented student, if he wanted to he could actually pursue that as a career,” Guilfoyle said. “Some students need that next step of going to art school and exploring that realm; they usually do not get an opportunity to do a gallery showing until after or during that experience. He’s getting it at a very young age, which is fantastic.”

The critique developed from publicly displaying artwork serves as excellent practice for young artists, according to Leudloff.

“You’re capturing the shot, you’re manipulating it, you see how you want it to be,” Luedloff said. “But now you’re putting it out there for people to throw mud at, and they’re going to critique it. It gives someone like Matt a little bit of exposure on not being afraid to put there work out there. It encourages them to keep working and do another display.”

The gallery runs from Nov. 7 until the end of the month.