We are thrilled to host The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston for a special speaker series with Director & Chief Curator Katie McCampbell Hirsch in conversation with Multimedia Artist Kirsten Stolle.
The day before the Halsey Institute opens its Fall exhibition, Only You Can Prevent A Forest: August 26 – December 10, 2022, Stolle and Hirsch will highlight what goes on behind the scenes during the sometimes years-long formation of a museum exhibition and the important partnership between artist and curator for any installation or permanent collection. In addition, they will share the artist’s story that inspires her work and that perspective for experiencing this new exhibit.
To RSVP to this free event, fill out the form below.
About Kirsten Stolle:
Kirsten Stolle is a visual artist working in collage, drawing, and installation. Her research-based practice is grounded in the investigation of corporate propaganda, greenwashing, and food politics. She is a Pollock-Krasner Grant recipient and her work is included in the collections of the San Jose Museum of Art, Crocker Art Museum, and Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Solo exhibitions include NOME (Berlin), Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (NC), Turchin Center for Visual Arts (NC), Winthrop University Art Galleries (SC), Tracey Morgan Gallery (NC), and Dolby Chadwick Gallery (CA). Group exhibitions include the North Carolina Museum of Art, Balzer Projects (Basel), Fridman Gallery (NYC), Barcelona Biennial of Thought, The Billboard Creative (CA) and her work has been published in the Atlantic, Poetry Magazine, and Photograph. Visit, www.kirstenstolle.com for more information about Kirsten and her work.
About Katie McCampbell Hirsch:
Katie Hirsch is the Director and Chief Curator of the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston. At the Halsey Institute, Katie has recently curated exhibitions by Coulter Fussell, Jibade-Khalil Huffman, Dyani White Hawk, and Kukuli Velarde. Prior to moving to Charleston, she lived in Shanghai, China, where she worked as Senior Curator at island6 Arts Center in the city’s famed M50 Art District. Katie received her M.A. in Art History from the Florida State University, where her research focused on the visual cultures of Mesoamerica.
About the Exhibition:
Kirsten Stolle – Only You Can Prevent A Forest // August 26 – December 10, 2022
Using appropriation, wordplay, and humor, Kirsten Stolle co-opts advertising strategies used by agrichemical corporations to resurface and critique company history. For her exhibition, Only You Can Prevent A Forest, Stolle will create photo-based collages, visual poetry interventions, text-based sound animation, a neon wall piece, and her first site-responsive sculptural installation. Building upon her decade-long research into companies like Bayer/Monsanto and Dow Chemical, the work will forefront historical ties to chemical warfare and reveal persistent greenwashing. Stolle’s work interrogates the global influence of chemical companies on our food supply and their consistent efforts to downplay effects of their toxic products on our health and environment.
Only You Can Prevent A Forest is funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the South Carolina Arts Commission, Charleston magazine, and Mindelle Seltzer and Robert Lovinger.
About the Halsey Institute:
The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston provides a multidisciplinary laboratory for the production, presentation, interpretation, and dissemination of ideas by innovative visual artists from around the world. The Institute originates between five and seven exhibitions per year, many of which travel nationally, and host a year-round schedule of lectures, panels, symposia, screenings, discussions, and special events. The Halsey Institute’s exhibitions and programs focus on emerging, mid-career, and oddly overlooked artists.
Patron Preview Reception
Halsey Institute galleries and Hill Exhibition Gallery
Friday, August 26, 5:30 – 6:30 PM
Open to Postmodernist level members and above
Opening Reception
Halsey Institute galleries and Hill Exhibition Gallery
Friday, August 26, 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Free for CofC community + members, $5 donation otherwise
Artist Talk
Halsey Institute galleries
Saturday, August 27, 2:00 PM
Curator’s Coffee Club
Halsey Institute galleries
Friday, September 16, 9:00 – 11:00 AM
Open to Halsey Institute members at all levels
Family Day!
Halsey Institute galleries and Hill Exhibition Gallery
Sunday, November 13, 1:00 – 5:00 PM
Free for all members, $5 donation for non-member families
Staff-led tours of the exhibition take place at 2:00 PM each Saturday unless superseded by a program.