The East Central College Art Gallery may be closed, but that didn’t prevent the art department from showcasing students’ work. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and closure of the ECC campus the exhibition was moved online.

Jennifer Higerd, ECC art instructor and gallery coordinator, said the Annual ECC Art & Design Student Exhibition is a celebration of the culmination of the year’s hard work, growth and learning by the students.

Typically, a reception follows the exhibition, which is an opportunity for parents, friends and family to join the faculty to acknowledge and honor the hard work of the students, she added.

“It is such a rite of passage for our graduating students to be able to show in a formal, gallery setting the amazing work they’ve been making,” Higerd said. “And while, admittedly, it’s not the same as being physically together in the gallery space, the online exhibition does that in a way — friends and family can take part from a distance.”

“The faculty wanted to celebrate and honor our students, their hard work and dedication, and their works.”

The online exhibition is located at www.eastcentral.edu/art-gallery/current-exhibition/.

The students submit their work in several categories, including drawing, painting, photography, digital, figure and sculpture. Then a winner is selected for each category, along with a “Best of Show” for the entire exhibit.

The 2020 Best of Show winner was Anna Wright, Gerald, for her watercolor “Fowl.” According to Wright. Her winning piece was part of a series of farm animal paintings.

“I have been experimenting with my application of watercolors and inks,” she said. “I like how I was able to contrast the colors and textures of the guinea fowl.”

Wright’s painting was completed during Watkins’ art class.

“It really is a stunningly simple piece that combines wonderful gestural marks and fluid use of color,” Watkins said. “The form is suggested rather than being imposed. Anna has been working through a process to combine line and color in a way to accentuate the form, push the value and increase the volume while maintaining a painterly quality — This piece really shows that process come into being.”

The winners in other categories are: Olivia Tucker and Alexis Kinnison, drawing; Tucker, painting; Kinnison, photography; Olga Tomescu, digital; Wright, figure; and Tucker, sculpture.