This piece was made by Joel Green, a furniture design major.

PROVIDENCE

With its dizzying mix

of styles, disciplines and techniques, the Rhode Island School of Design’s “Annual Graduate Thesis Exhibition” often seems like a giant version of Where’s Waldo.

Hidden somewhere in the show’s sprawling mass of artworks may be the seeds of new art forms, new art movements and new art stars. The trick for viewers – and, increasingly, for collectors who now flock to art-school exhibitions in the hope of discovering the next hot young painter or up-and-coming performance artist – is to separate the artistic gold from the surrounding chaos.

This year, the show’s Where’s Waldo effect is even stronger than usual. With construction continuing on RISD’s new Chace Center complex on North Main Street, the RISD Museum has been forced to close several of its lower-floor galleries, including the suite of Waterman Galleries normally used for the school’s faculty and graduate-student exhibitions.

As a result, the graduate student show has temporarily moved to the Rhode Island Convention Center, where works by more than 100 MFA candidates in painting, photography, furniture-making and other disciplines have been installed in one of the center’s cavernous exhibition halls. The result takes the term “sensory overload” to a whole new level. (My advice: wear comfortable shoes and take regular rest breaks. If you have a GPS-enabled phone or Blackberry, bring that too.)

Then again, some visitors may actually like the new digs.

With 10,000-square-feet of floor space to spread out in, the show feels much less cramped than usual, with more room per artist and more space between one artwork and the next. A series of temporary partitions also helps by dividing the show into manageable sections. (Another plus is on-site parking; the Convention Center has it, the RISD Museum doesn’t.)

So what’s new, trend-wise, in this year’s grad show?

Generally speaking, not much. It’s no secret, for example, that drawing has made a comeback in recent years, especially among younger artists looking for less conceptual, more physically engaged ways of making art. Here, the examples include Mie Yoshinaga’s dreamy portraits and animal studies, Fleming Jeffries’ futuristic marine fantasies and a group of playful freeform inkblots by Justin Diaz. (Interestingly, many of the show’s top draftsmen come from RISD’s printmaking department.)

Likewise, the large number of works that employ computers, digital projectors and other types of electronic gear should come as no surprise. After all, hard drives and video monitors are to the 21st century what oil paints and Carrara marble were to the Renaissance.

Some artists, such as Ebe Odonkor, use their high-tech skills for political ends. Odonkor’s Unfamiliar Voices installation illustrates how Internet technologies such as file-sharing and VoIP (short for Voice over Internet Protocol) can serve as powerful witnesses to injustice. Other tech-based works explore everything from the nature of language and memory (Cristobal Mendoza’s Every Word I Saved) and the history of science (Geon Dong Kim’s History of Sundials).

Technology’s kudzu-like spread into fashion, architecture and other design-based disciplines is equally apparent. A dress collection by fashion designer Chriss Slevin uses fabrics printed with digital photographs. Architect Manita Jitngarmkusol, meanwhile, designed a real-life store for the popular online clothing site coolhunting.com.

Another popular topic is the environment. The trend is especially strong among the show’s architects and industrial designers, many of whom seem to have taken “Go Green” as their rallying cry. Examples include Gina Falba’s plans for eco-friendly modular homes and Carolyn Campbell’s examination of the impact of urban development on the Pawtuxet River. On a lighter note, there’s Madeleine Beaulieu’s eco-friendly umbrella, which channels rainwater into a small bud vase in the umbrella’s handle.

If there’s a big surprise this year, it’s the show’s lack of overtly political works.

True, there are some exceptions. Odonkor’s Unfamiliar Voices installation is one. Another is John Ewing’s Miami Boatlift, a faux-documentary that chronicles the efforts of a group of Americans seeking a better life (and certainly better health and dental care) in Castro’s Cuba. Still, given the less-than-tidy state of world affairs, you might expect the show’s political temperature to be at least a few degrees warmer.

As usual, a number of works stand out for their ability to (a) shock, (b) puzzle or (c) gross out viewers. In category (a), look for Rachelle Beaudoin’s Hotties for Hire installation, which includes a display of obscenity-laced gym shorts. In category (b), another installation — Anna Mikhailovskaia’s busy but unfocused Garden of Earthly Delights — wins by a hair over several other worthy candidates.

And speaking of hair, best-of-show honors in category (c) go to Dawn White, a jewelry designer whose earrings, necklaces and bracelets are made with clumps of human hair. Ick!

Of course, part of the fun of attending any grad-student show is the chance for viewers to exercise their own critical and curatorial instincts. Faced with a sea of aspiring Rembrandts, would-be Warhols and potential Picassos, who seems most likely to succeed?

Here, in no particular order, are some of my picks: Tatiana Maino-Lledo, whose laser-cut Plexiglas chairs and tables look like fodder for the next Design Within Reach catalog; Nathaniel Lew, whose digital-illustration skills could make him the online answer to Chris Van Allsburg; Aurora Harrington, whose elegant Warrior Dresses seem composed of equal parts origami and Balenciaga; Matt Bollinger, a painter with a special knack for capturing the weirdly phosphorescent glow emitted by computer screens and video monitors; and Geon Dong Kim, whose History of Sundials installation pushes Web design into the realm of fine art.

Naturally, results for other viewers may vary.

RISD’s Annual Graduate Thesis Exhibition continues through June 2 in Hall C of the Rhode Island Convention Center, corner of Sabin and Exchange streets in Providence. Hours: daily, noon-5 (noon-8 on June 2). Admission: free. For more information visit www.risd.edu/graduate.