The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston School of the Arts has organized a major traveling exhibition of new work by contemporary Los Angeles artist F. Scott Hess. The exhibition will premiere in Charleston August 24 – October 5, 2012. Entitled, The Paternal Suit, the exhibition consists of over 100 paintings, prints, and objects created by Hess, but presented as legitimate historical artifacts, and supported by photographs, documents, and historical ephemera. Each object and artwork bears an artist’s name and detailed provenance and has been executed in the style of the century from which it supposedly originates. Sculpture, ceramics, furniture, toys, newspaper clippings, historic photographs, guns, and costumes advance the story. Hess does not claim authorship for the works on display. Instead, he ascribes to them fictional artists, referring to himself as the Director of the “F. Scott Hess Family Foundation.”

The gallery walk-through on Saturday August 25, 2pm with F. Scott Hess is free and the public is encouraged to attend. The Paternal Suit will be on display at the Halsey Institute from August 24 – October 5, 2012 and will travel nationally after its inaugural presentation at the Halsey Institute, including a stop Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL.

Learn more about this exhibition»