The City of San Luis Obispo invites community members to attend a public ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the installation of a new public art piece, Sculpture Jam, on the Mission Plaza lawn (between Mission Plaza and the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art) on Friday, January 30 at 12 p.m. (noon).

The event is free and open to the public and will include brief remarks from City leaders, project partners, and the deceased artist’s family, followed by an opportunity for attendees to view the artwork and connect with one another in the space.

Sculpture Jam draws its monumental form from massive redwood trees and integrates elegant copper craftsmanship. Created by Bruce Johnson, the piece’s organic, dynamic shapes breathe new life into ancient wood. It explores themes of connectedness intended to offer a sense of hope for a resilient future.

Johnson was a San Francisco-based artist whose work focused on large-scale sculptures, drawing inspiration from nature and sacred pieces of architecture, such as Stonehenge and Japanese Shinto shrines. His large-scale sculptures can be found as public art in Italy, Spain and Taiwan, as well as many private and public collections across the United States.