We sat down with Kev Munday before his opening reception of ‘Playful Pigments’ in early April (on display until the 11th May) and this is what we ascertained from our fruitful conversation…
‘Vibrant Utopia’ is a running theme within Kev’s work. Initially seeing Kev’s work during the installation of the exhibition I was thrusted into a world of bold chromatic colours. Characters danced with one another on an array of canvas, wood and metal plains. The emergence of utopian worlds joined cartoon esc illustrations creates viewers to plummet into otherworldly narratives, perhaps harking back to childhood, story books and crips magazines. Cheerful characters matching cheerful tones of colour, hanging on our gallery walls adjacent to the bustling high street of Guildford.
Our interview took place sat in front of Kev’s ‘Room for everyone’ 240cm x 120cm holding its own weight of eclectic vibrancy and playful characters. We chatted for five minutes discussing how his own personal journey has informed his practice, how his graffiti background has helped not hindered his placement of marker pens. What struck me the most was his correlation between the mundane and utopia. Utopia: “a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions” however, Kev’s definition is simpler, he describes it as “the things you see when your out and about” evident in his ‘Between Two Worlds Series’.
There is a sense of busyness in Kev’s work, the composition of characters nestled purposefully together. His curation of his work echoes this, perfectly filling the gallery walls. We spoke about community and how this is formed from the viewer and also within his mark making. “Doing things in public” attracts interest which in turn attracts sales. Kev also says that he “tries to make the communities of characters diverse”, this was refreshing to hear and amplifies the vibrancy yet again from his playful characters. He later goes on to say that his “overall theme is unity” - a perfect summarise of artworks we want to exhibit at New House Art Space. Nestled away in the heart of Guildford, Kev’s work brings joy to commuters, to hybrid workers and to the residents that inhabit our art studios. To end on another quote from Kev “We can all live together”, playful characters, cartoonist depictions, making the mundane less mundane and joyfully simple.