From left, Butler County Community College students Vanessa Eberle of Butler, Maryna Boychenko of Cranberry Township; Casey Cardone of Saxonburg and Ethan Eberle of Butler; show their 5-foot by 3-foot abstract “Dirty Pouring.” The painting, also created with fellow BC3 students Avery Bean of Valencia and Crystal Kerchersky of Butler, was a collaborative effort by the six and was chosen to be part of the Student Art Showcase at Butler County Community College.

Would-be art connoisseurs get a chance to gaze upon the best of the best during the 2019 Butler County Community College Student Art Showcase, which opened this week and runs until April 23.

The curator of the Mary Hulton Phillips Gallery on BC3's main campus, David Ludwick, said there will be a reception for student artists from noon to 2:30 p.m. April 10 at the gallery.

Ludwick, a fine arts instructor, said the showcase features 44 works and skews heavily toward the abstract.

Works were created by students in art classes taught this fall on BC3's main campus in Butler Township, at BC3 @ Cranberry in Cranberry Township and BC3 @ LindenPointe in Hermitage

“This represents the best of the best work for the semester,” said Ludwick.

“There are about 80 students taking art classes as an elective in the humanities, ”said Ludwick. “The instructors from each class have chosen the works for the showcase.”Among the works of students are works in graphite, pencil and charcoal sketches; jewelry, and acrylic and water color paintings ranging in size from 1 foot by 1 foot to 3 feet by 5 feet.“It's a true cross-section of the classes,” said Ludwick.The style in this spring's showcase runs more toward the abstract, as opposed to more traditional renderings in past showcases, Ludwick said.“I would call this more experimental in the nature of the works,” said Ludwick. “That's just the personality of the students.”The Mary Hulton Phillips Gallery, 107 College Drive, is located near the Succop Theater on the Butler County Community College's main campus.It's named for Mary Hulton Phillips, a lifelong resident of the Butler area and a supporter of its cultural institutions, who died in 2009.

Kylie Hollibaugh, 24, of Butler, a Butler County Community College student, is shown in the college's Mary Hulton Phillips Gallery with her self-portrait that is part of BC3's Student Art Showcase.