This fall is a great time to check out the exhibits and activities at Charleston’s Halsey Institute, for many years one of the city’s great cultural venues.
The Halsey Institute was originally named the Halsey Gallery after the artist William Halsey, a Charleston native whose modernist paintings and other works were exhibited in major institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Halsey, in 1964, was the first person to teach studio art at the College of Charleston, where he taught for 20 years. Upon his retirement, the studio art faculty voted to name an art gallery after him in honor of his contribution to the arts in Charleston.
In 2005, the gallery changed its name to the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art to more accurately reflect the range of programming offered to the public. Conceived as a noncollecting, contemporary art facility, it remains a vital cultural resource in the Southeast and beyond.
The Halsey Institute originates exhibitions each year, many of which travel nationally, 118 CSD and hosts a year-round schedule of lectures, panels, symposia, screenings, discussions and special events.
From October 24 to December 5, 2015, the work of two artists will be on exhibit. Korean multi-media artist Jiha Moon features new works that unite cultural elements from Korea, Japan, China and the West. In her work, Moon explores the idea that, in today’s world, an individual’s identity is multicultural and not limited by the characteristics and customs of any single culture or geographic area.
At the same time, Susan Klein’s paintings will be shown. Having exhibited her work both nationally and internationally, she’s currently an assistant professor of art at the College of Charleston. Her work explores layers of history by combining imagery from separate places and times. She typically begins with an urban or rural landscape, and then works over these representational images by incorporating a variety of objects to create a dense, visual obstacle course.
For more information: halsey.cofc.edu; 843-953-4422.
