SAN JOSÉ, California (June 7, 2018) — The San José Museum of Art will open the exhibition Won Ju Lim: California Dreamin’ on Thursday, June 21, 2018, 5 – 9 PM. The Third Thursday will be the US premiere of Won Ju Lim’s installation California Dreamin’ (2012), a multi-colored Plexiglas construction of model homes and prefabricated buildings suffused with moving and still image projections, reflecting the urban environment of Southern California. The installation was acquired by the Museum in 2017 and was previously shown only in Europe. Food and drinks are available for sale at Café Too. No-host bar. Tickets are $5 after 5 PM (free to Museum members) and are available online at sjmusart.org/calendar.
Lim will discuss the work in a Creative Minds program, in conversation with Rory Padeken, associate curator, at 6 PM. Tickets are $12 ($6 for members) and are available online at sjmusart.org/calendar. Advanced reservations are highly recommended.
“In this ethereal urban oasis, California Dreamin’ is a city of opportunity and promise—where fantasy, memory, and longing unite in brilliant color and wild optimism. Suspending her shimmering dreamscape somewhere between theater and cinema, Lim offers a poetic reflection of space, place, and time,” said Padeken.
The exhibition also includes a selection of lightboxes from Lim’s series “Memory Palaces, Terrace 49” (2003), containing the shadowy outlines of pine and oak trees and the silhouettes of homes perched along a hillside and backlit to produce mysterious intrigue and ghostly effect. A single mixed media sculpture of the topographic profile of Echo Park in East Los Angeles and encased in yellow Plexiglas from the series “A Piece Of” (2007) will also be featured in the exhibition. In both series, Lim makes reference to the hilly terrain and neighborhoods of Los Angeles.
SAN JOSÉ MUSEUM OF ART
The San José Museum of Art celebrates new ideas, stimulates creativity, and inspires connection with every visit. Welcoming and thought-provoking, the Museum rejects stuffiness and delights visitors with its surprising and playful perspective on the art and artists of our time. SJMA is located at 110 South Market Street in downtown San José, California. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 AM to 5 PM and until 8 PM or later on the third Thursday of each month. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6 for students, and $5 for youth ages 7 – 18. Members and children ages 6 and under are admitted free. For more information, call 408-271-6840 or visit www.SanJoseMuseumofArt.org.
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Programs at the San José Museum of Art are made possible by generous operating support from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Yvonne and Mike Nevens, a Cultural Affairs grant from the City of San José, and the Richard A. Karp Charitable Foundation.