Grief and memories two years later

Inside the Buffalo AKG Museum of Art, on the outskirts of downtown Buffalo, is a room set apart from the rest.

Thick glass doors with thin white letters describing the purpose of the exhibit keep sound out. Low lighting and deep blue hued walls create a feeling of security inside.

Here visitors can grieve, remember and learn.

In this small square space, on a Monday afternoon in May, a woman stops in front of a painting on the left side of the exhibition, reaches into a large black bag slung over her shoulder and pulls out a small bundle of handkerchiefs. plastic, separating one from the group and wiping his nose as emotions rise to the surface.

A Buffalonian and host of the Burchfield Penney Art Center lets out a huge sigh while admiring the work; the powerful breath expelled with hues of frustration, anger and sadness.

A group of high school students from southern Western New York gather in front of the same piece of art. Clipboards and phones in hand, they watch two teachers share their views on the message of the work.

What they are looking at is not a Picasso, a Monet or a Van Gogh, but it still captivates the crowd.