At first encounter, Kate Holcomb Hale’s sculptures seem to be referencing failed structures — railings without stairs, flexible ladders you can’t climb, soft speed bumps that do not deter one’s speed —architectural elements engineered not to function. 

However, when you notice that these sculptures are twisting and bending in response to their environment and see that the splatters of colors emerge and dissipate on their surfaces into bruise-like patterns, you realize that these forms are so much like our bodies. Our bodies are constantly adjusting in an attempt to fit into our surroundings, often getting bruised and injured in the process.

Hale’s ladders, speed bumps, and railings are soft and flexible, not because they are failing, but because they must remain agile and improvisational in order to accommodate any situations they encounter. Her sculptures reference bodies in constant transitions: bodies that falter but still hold on to carry our lives forward, bodies that take care of loved ones through pain, and the bodies of our loved ones as they begin to fail. 

In this way, Hale’s work tells a story of bodies and caretaking.I’m here If you need me is not just an exhibition title, but a phrase of care and love. It reflects how we extend ourselves to take care of our loved ones, as well as the eventual grief that comes after losing the people we love. 

-Loretta Park, curator + artist