Press Release
The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston School of the Arts announces the upcoming exhibition, Kirsten Stolle: Only You Can Prevent A Forest for fall 2022. This exhibition will be on view at the Halsey Institute from Friday, August 26th to Saturday, December 10th, 2022. An opening reception is set for Friday, August 26th from 6:30 pm to 8 pm.
The Halsey Institute's open hours are Monday – Saturday 11 am to 4 pm and 11 am to 7 pm on Thursdays, and the galleries are open to the public with free admission.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Using appropriation, wordplay, and humor, Kirsten Stolle co-opts advertising strategies used by agrichemical corporations to resurface and critique company history. For her exhibition, 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.
ABOUT KIRSTEN STOLLE
Kirsten Stolle is a visual artist working in collage, text-based images, and installation. Her research-based practice is grounded in the investigation of agribusiness propaganda, food politics and biotechnology. Stolle was born in Newton, MA in 1967, lived and worked in the San Francisco Bay Area for 19 years, and currently lives in Asheville, NC. Her work is included in the permanent collections of the San José Museum of Art, Crocker Art Museum, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Her work has been published in The Atlantic, Photograph, Topic magazine, The Billboard Creative, TAZ Berlin, Le Monde diplomatique, Berlin Art Link, SLEEK magazine, Made in Mind magazine, Poetry magazine, The Creators Project, Widewalls, Spolia magazine, Burnaway, Vhcle magazine, DIALOGIST, SLICE magazine, New American Paintings, The Ignatian literary magazine, Eleven Eleven, Hayden's Ferry Review, and Manifest's International Drawing Annual.
She is a recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant, a Dave Bown Projects award, as well as grants from the San Francisco Arts Commission, Artists' Fellowship Inc., The Puffin Foundation, Change Inc., and the Creative Capacity Fund. She has been awarded residencies at the Ucross Foundation, Millay Colony, Blue Mountain Center, Marble House Project, Willapa Bay AiR, Oregon College of Art and Craft, Spiro Arts, The Anderson Center, and Ballinglen Arts Foundation.
Stolle received a BA in Visual Arts from Framingham State University, and completed studies at Richmond College (London, England), and Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
Kirsten Stolle's website is KirstenStolle.com.
EVENTS DURING ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT A FOREST
Visit halsey.cofc.edu for the most up-to-date event information including access links for events with virtual participation options. All events will occur in the galleries and are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.
Opening Reception
Artist talk with Kirsten Stolle
M* Curator Coffee Club
The Artist in the Archive: The Art-Science Discoveries of Kirsten Stolle
WGS Intersections: Kirsten Stolle
Sit a Spell: Center for Sustainable Development
Family Day!
*M indicates a members-only event.
