Despite dropping temperatures and inclement weather, intrepid patrons of the arts still traveled to the Short North for the monthly Gallery Hop.
The event, held on the first Saturday of every month, still drew many attendees, even if it wasn’t the thousands of visitors it usually attracts. Hundreds wandered among the many galleries along the stretch of High Street through the rain, taking in the unique offerings of each location.
One such location was the Rivet Gallery at the northernmost edge of the arts district. Saturday night was the first night for the Remedy benefit show. According to a pamphlet for the event, the artwork in the show takes “thematic inspiration from the need to find cures for disease.” Twenty-five percent of the proceeds from art sold at the show will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Rivet Gallery owner Laura Kuenzli said holding future Remedy events to benefit other disease research is a possibility.
“I’m not ruling anything out for the future, but this is just something that personally affected me,” said Kuenzli, a breast cancer survivor who was diagnosed a week after opening the gallery in 2007. “It’s something I’ve wanted to do since opening.”
The art involved with the Remedy show shared a gothic influence with the rest of the art at the gallery, as well as many of the “designer” toys the store specializes in.
Kuenzli said the weather didn’t seem to affect the attendance of Ohio State students, but then again, she never had many OSU visitors to begin with.
“I get a lot of (Columbus College of Art and Design) students,” she said. “We don’t get many OSU students during Gallery Hop.”
Further south on High Street, however, Deanna Copel, a fourth-year in architecture, and a group of fellow Buckeyes were taking in the displays at the Kiaca Gallery.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever been (to a Gallery Hop),” she said. “It’s cold, but I’m having fun.”
The gallery’s main draw was a series of oil paintings by artist Ron Anderson, titled “On the Edge of Midnight.” The series draws on African-American culture and music as the inspiration for its subjects. The artist himself was there to explain the paintings to the gallery’s visitors.
“In terms of time painting, I’d say a day,” Anderson said to a patron, who asked how long it took him to complete a painting. “The majority of the painting happens in your head.”
Another OSU student was busy during the Gallery Hop, although not busy examining the art. Patrick Valentino, a fourth-year in English, works as an intern for the Roy G. Biv Gallery.
“It’s a great place to intern for people who don’t know where to start,” he said, explaining how an English major came to intern for an art gallery.
Valentino said he especially enjoys working during Gallery Hop.
“Gallery Hop is a great event,” he said. “It brings all sorts of people, young and old, to central Ohio.”
Saturday marked the opening night for the selection of artists being exhibited at Roy G. Biv, a non-profit based around displaying artists emerging on the scene.
Among the artists displayed was Jen Burton, a graduate of the Columbus College of Art and Design, whose work was a collection of large Xerox prints of her hair.
The other artists were Jesse Mills, who crafted foam replicas of carpentry tools, and Nathan Lareau, whose videos were projected onto a blank wall within the gallery.
Perhaps the most exciting arts in play during Gallery Hop were the culinary ones. The MoJoe Lounge hosted a grilled-cheese cookoff from 6:30 until 8:30 p.m. The cookoff featured an estimated eight versions of the popular sandwich, each comprised of locally produced breads and cheeses. Local radio station CD101, one of the event’s primary sponsors, broadcasted live from the lounge from 7 p.m. until the event wrapped up at 10.
The last attendees left the galleries at 10 p.m., concluding another Gallery Hop Saturday. As the patrons exited, the promise of better weather in November set the hopes high for the next hop.
