By Jennifer Glickel
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER EAST SIDE — If you’re one of those fans who has dreamed of drinking Dharma beer while sitting on your couch watching “Lost,” an Upper East Side gallery might have the perfect exhibit for you.
Just three days before the worldwide ABC television phenomenon “Lost” wraps up its final season, the Vilcek Foundation Gallery on E. 73rd Street premiered an exhibit featuring an extensive collection of props from the hit show that pays tribute to the international crew that worked on it.
The Vilcek Foundation works to honor immigrants living and working in the U.S. in the arts and sciences, and a significant portion of “Lost’s” cast and crew is made up of immigrants and first-generation Americans.
“One of the reasons that this show is such a good vehicle for us is that millions of people watch it around the world and no one really knows how many immigrants work to put ‘Lost’ together,” said Joyce Li, a foundation spokeswoman. “The show’s producers told us that the diverse backgrounds of people working across all departments of the production team really inform the show itself.”
The exhibit features profiles of 23 members of the “Lost” team — including actors, writers, producers, editors, costumer designers, and cameramen. Among the stars participating in the exhibit are Jorge Garcia (“Hurley”), Yunjin Kim (“Sun”), Nestor Carbonell (“Richard”), Dominic Monaghan (“Charlie”) and Daniel Dae Kim (“Jin”).
Some of the prop highlights are the Dharma Initiative van, food, and beer; John Locke and Hugo Reyes’ Oceanic Airline boarding passes; Faraday’s journal; and the frozen half wheel.
“Lost” fans flocked to the gallery for the show’s opening day on Thursday.
“I absolutely love this show,” said Peter Wong, 27, who lives on the Lower East Side and said, “Oh my god, the van!” when he first entered the gallery.
“Just to have these artifacts of pop culture right here is astonishing,” Wong said.
Erik Oehler, 30, of Rochester, N.Y. was in town for an interview, and within an hour of hearing about the exhibit on Facebook was at the gallery to check it out.
“One of the most compelling parts of the show is the amount of details they go into to create the mystery,” Oehler said. “So to see that detail close up is incredible.”
The Vilcek Foundation Celebrates “Lost” exhibit is free and open to the public Tuesday through Sunday from May 20 to June 5. The gallery is located at 167 E. 73rd Street.
