Halsey to debut new facility with collage and assemblage show

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New Halsey Gallery

The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art opens its new gallery space, with the exhibition, Aldwyth: Work v. / Work n. — Collage and Assemblage 1991- 2009. The show opens October 23, 2009 and will run through January 9, 2010.

For years, the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art succeeded in presenting world-class exhibitions, despite its small space in the College of Charleston's School of the Arts building on St. Philip Street.

Half-hidden there, its curator Mark Sloan and small staff cultivated a reputation for producing provocative, thoughtful and, above all, fascinating art shows.

Now, the Halsey has a facility to match its ambition.

The new Marion and Wayland H. Cato Jr. Center for the Arts, at Calhoun and St. Philip streets, features a ground-level space for the Halsey that includes a long and broad main entrance hall (where student work will hang), two display galleries, a library and a bean-bag-furnished media room where art videos will run on a flat-screen television.

The Halsey opens to the public Oct. 23 with a reception that begins at 6 p.m. Visitors will see another of its evocative, and sometimes controversial exhibitions. This one, "Aldwyth: work v. / work n.," features the intricate work of Aldwyth, a little-known 73-year-old Hilton Head artist who makes collages and assemblages.

Sloan, who has been her

champion, says Aldwyth's art belongs in the world's best museums, but that she has been content to manufacture her creations in ascetic conditions with no expectation of fame or fortune.

Interestingly, her work is often about the very art world she seems to have shunned, what might be called meta-art. Highly self-referential and full of ironies and compelling ideas, the collages and assemblage (sculpture made from found objects) display her perceptions.

One piece, "re-su-me/re-sume," is a wooden box that opens to reveal rows of square compartments covered by glass. In all but one is something Aldwyth has not accomplished or received: shows at P.S.1, MoMA, the London Gallery and Venice Biennial; reviews in The New York Times or Art in America; various foundation grants or art awards; an obituary ... But one item has a check mark instead of an X: "Work."

Sloan, who has known the artist for about 15 years and has visited her small marsh-front home, said Aldwyth works constantly, every day, waking early, sipping a coffee and eating little. She is wiry and nimble and said she doesn't cook. "All you need is a microwave and a fridge," she said.

Her work is at once epic and miniature, robust, crude, intricate, humorous and incredibly detailed. "I always try to put a joke in," she said.

The assemblages are reminiscent of Marcel Duchamp, the great French Dadaist who loved to convert everyday objects into conceptual sculpture called "readymades." And the collages are highly influenced by the folk art that Aldwyth loves.

She has her fixations: eyes, hands, technology and the artists she admires, such as Philip Guston for his ability to evolve, Pierre Bonnard for his flat, psychological expressionism, and Giorgio Morandi for his persistence.

References to their art appear repeatedly in Aldwyth's collages, which she makes with cutouts from books and magazines that she pastes on huge sheets of durable Japanese Okawara paper.

The collage called "A World According to Zell," which looks something like a quilt from a distance, is the result of Aldwyth's encounter with "Zell's Popular Encyclopedia" of 1871. She cut out all of the illustrations and reordered them in various sequences and shapes. In the catalog that accompanies the exhibition, the piece is explained this way:

"An encyclopedia is a snapshot of what is deemed important at that time by that compiler -- this is a compilation of those same images rearranged as this artist responds to them at this time."

The result is a visual expression of a historical moment reimagined, with the encyclopedia's diverse illustrations ordered categorically: Animals along one row, people along another, buildings along a third, and so on.

"I've never met anyone who can put things together in this way with such incredible results," Sloan said. "She is in the footsteps of a lot of people, yet unique. She has her own peculiar enthusiasms."

The work is displayed across the new galleries. One room has a stained concrete floor and 13.5-foot ceilings, with enough nooks, shelves and wall extensions to enable Sloan to mount group shows or exhibits that feature different media. The second room has hardwood floors and a 12-foot ceiling. More intimate, it's meant for smaller works that "don't get lost on the wall," especially drawings, prints and photographs, Sloan said.

The reception counter and cabinetry, made of solid poplar and birch-faced plywood, were constructed by Jean-Marie Mauclet, co-owner of Gaulart et Maliclet Cafe Restaurant on Broad Street. The display cases and ledges in the galleries were made by Charleston-based J.M.O. Woodworks.

For the Aldwyth exhibition, Sloan produced a 30-minute video that reveals the intricacies of the artist's assemblages and will run continuously in the media room during the show. It was made by John Reynolds. Local musician Bill Carson wrote original minimalist music to accompany the images.

The marketing agency Hook, another local enterprise, has developed a "reveal campaign" for the Halsey, Sloan said. Over the course of a few weeks, the theme of the ad campaign will emerge. Hook has produced branded coasters, banners, posters and T-shirts, all pro bono.

Ironically, the Halsey Institute, now in its new digs, must operate with a smaller budget and staff, Sloan said. But a just-awarded $80,000, two-year grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts is a big help and a seal of approval for the high-caliber work of the gallery.

"It's a really nice endorsement for us," Sloan said.

Now that the Halsey is in an elegant, more visible space, it's likely to attract more attention, and more financial support, which is always needed, he said.

"We have a facility commensurate with the quality of work we've been producing for a long time," Sloan said.

On Nov. 13, Sloan will host the fifth annual New Moon membership event, to feature the Garage Cuban Band and dancer Beth Coiner.

Supporters will have a chance to view Aldwyth's creations and to celebrate the new addition to Charleston's cultural landscape.

Reach Adam Parker at 937-5902 or aparker@postandcourier.com.