On Thursday night, Kenyon students gathered for Late Night at the Gund Gallery. This month, the event’s theme was color blocks, taking inspiration from one of the museum’s current exhibits: Meg Cranston’s ’82 series, “Hue, Saturation, Value: The Archer Paintings.” The exhibit features a collection of paintings that depict an array of colors in varying tones. The atmosphere of Late Night was spirited and bright: People mingled and laughed, feasted on themed snacks and examined the art and crafted collages together.
Late Nights at Gund Gallery are put on by the Education and Visitor Experience Team of Gund Gallery Associates. One of the team leaders, Ella Musher-Eizenman ’22, organized Thursday’s event. Musher-Eizenman is interested in pursuing gallery and museum work after she graduates, which led her to seek work as a Gallery associate. These events provide associates the opportunity to share their appreciation of art with the greater Kenyon community.
In the lower level of the Gallery, a table featured a wide selection of foods in different colors to correspond with the color block theme. Most notable was the variety of brightly colored Jellos. At the opposite end of the room, another table boasted an array of colored papers, paint samples, scissors, glue, tissue paper and other materials for students to experiment with collaging.
Djibril Branche ’23, a new Gund Gallery associate, gave tours of the art exhibits during the Late Night event.
Branche expressed his own thoughtful response to “The Archer Paintings.”
“This exhibition is showing how colors can relate to cultural norms, gender and other things,” Branche said. He described how colors have varying associations for different people, and commented on the discrepancies in tone of the contrasting paintings.
Throughout the night, student band The Millennial Pinks performed in the Gallery’s upper level. The lively, warm atmosphere fostered a sense of closeness and creativity. As the night drew to a close, gentle acoustic guitar formed a backdrop for the art and conversation. For students struggling to cope with stress as the end of the school week approached, the event was a much-needed opportunity to relax and connect with other people.
This event gave students the opportunity to explore the art in the gallery in new, more profound ways. “I feel like I got to connect with the art more than I usually do,” said Katya Naphtali ’23 after touring the exhibit, as the night drew to a close. The Late Night at Gund Gallery gave Kenyon students the opportunity to come together to share their own unique perceptions of art in a festive environment.
The next Late Night at Gund Gallery will be on Thursday, October 31 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. These events are open to all Kenyon students and community members.