JooYoung Choi Solo Show Comes to The Moody in May

Opening on May 25, 2023, the Moody Center for the Arts will host the first institutional solo exhibition in Houston for multidisciplinary artist JooYoung Choi. Titled Love and Wondervision the exhibition will feature new and recent work by the Korean-born, Houston-based artist, including video, sculpture, painting, and the monumental installation, Like a Bolt Out of the Blue, Faith Steps In and Sees You Through - Infinite Feels Arrangement. The exhibition will be on view through August 26, 2023, and will be supported by free and public programming presented throughout the summer.

Equally playful and poignant, Love and Wondervision invites visitors to explore Choi's original and multifaceted world: an imaginary universe of colorful and inventive characters connected to each other through narratives that promote belonging and resilience in the face of racism and social division.

"We are thrilled to present the imaginative work of JooYoung Choi in her hometown of Houston," said Alison Weaver, Executive Director. "This exhibition invites visitors to engage with a host of playful characters whose stories explore the weighty topics of cultural bias, gender discrimination, and the complex intersectionality of sexuality and race."

Choi, born in South Korea and raised in Concord, New Hampshire by her adoptive family, often explores issues of identity through her personal journey and research into the media's representation of girls, women, intersex, transgender, and non-binary people of color. Through the power of storytelling, her mythical world creates a space for healing in the wake of trauma and a platform for reclaiming and celebrating a sense of self, regardless of one's circumstances.

"This exhibition explores the themes that are most important to me as an artist and a person," said Choi. "Art and wonder have helped me find myself. There is nothing else in this world that I want more than to spread this message, that the creativity inside of us can bring us all on an incredible voyage that is led by love. The love of others who care for us and help us grow, and the love we give to others on this journey I call 'Wondervision.'"

The opening reception with the artist will be held on Thursday, May 25, 2023, from 6 - 8 p.m.

JooYoung Choi: Love and Wondervision is curated by Executive Director Alison Weaver, with Assistant Curator Molly Everett.

This exhibition is made possible by the Thomas D. and Pamela Riley Smith Endowment for the Moody Center for the Arts. Additional support is provided by the Brad and Leslie Bucher Artist Endowment, the Tamara de Kuffner Fund, the Kilgore Endowment Fund, and the Sewall Endowment.