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Raritan Valley Community College’s (RVCC) Visual and Performing Arts Department will present a two-person exhibition featuring work by RVCC adjunct faculty members Heejung Kim of Bogota and Val Sivilli of Holland Township. Heejung Kim and Val Sivilli: Recent Work will be on display in the Art Gallery at the College’s Branchburg campus from February 16-March 16.

An artist’s talk will be held in the Art Gallery on Friday, February 16, from 5-6 p.m. A reception will follow from 6-7 p.m. Both are free of charge and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Heejung Kim, an adjunct faculty member at RVCC since the Fall 2014 Semester, will feature recent works of ink on paper along with selected artist books created over the past 20 years. Her art is influenced by the patterns and symbols in Tibetan Mandala paintings. Her star-like images come from dreams she has had since her childhood. Using repetition like the mantras in meditation, Kim pushes her creative visions into a hypnotic space, carrying the viewer into a surreal sense of illusion—as if one is moving through a vast void.

Kim has had numerous exhibitions including solo shows at Stephen Gang Gallery and Paris Koh Fine Arts (New York City), Kougeas Gallery (Boston), Oregon State University, and group exhibitions at Cleveland State University, Heidi Cho Gallery (New York City), Sumei Multidisciplinary Art Center (Newark), Noyes Museum (Oceanville) and Drawing Rooms (Jersey City). Her artwork has been reviewed in such publications as ARTnews, The New York Times (NJ section), The Star-Ledger, and Design NJ. Kim also has taught studio arts at the New Jersey City University for 14 years.

Val Sivilli, who has served as an adjunct faculty member at RVCC for 15 years, will premiere a collection of drawings titled "57". The works, sketched daily for six months, depict simple scenes of common objects in a familiar environment. “Because a constant stream of world and national news and other aggravating nonsense seems to be audible everywhere,” says the artist, it is a constant companion to her drawing practice. Sivilli types the daily news directly over her drawings using a 1965 Smith Corona Typewriter. The exhibition features single drawings, groups of seven drawings that represent a single week, and artist books. The display also includes an ongoing series of work titled “BURN IT.”

Sivilli is one of four founding members of THAT (The Hunterdon Art Tour), which will be kicking off its second year in May. For additional information about Sivilli’s work, visit valsivilli.com.

Gallery hours are Mondays, 3-8 p.m.; Tuesdays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Wednesdays, 3-8 p.m.; Thursdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Fridays, 1-4 p.m. For further information, contact the Visual and Performing Arts Department, 908-218-8876.

Raritan Valley Community College’s main campus is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 24, 2018

Media contact: Donna Stolzer, 908-526-1200, ext. 8383

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