Portrait
Curated by Natale Adgnot
February 6 – March 1, 2026
297 Grand Street, 3rd Floor, New York NY
Underdonk is pleased to present Power Stricture, an exhibition of sculptures by Kate Holcomb Hale and Gabrielle Shelton. Whether wrought from bronze and steel or sewn from hand-painted cotton, both women create objects that confront structural impediments to female ascent, making literal the mechanisms that maintain existing hierarchies. The overtones oscillate between humor and exasperation, grief and defiance.
Cars don't have feet (right)
cotton, acrylic paint, polyester fill
5 x 120 x 11 inches
2024
Photography courtesy of Masaki Hori
It needs to be a little deflated at the end (center)
cotton, acrylic paint, polyester fill
180 x 42 x 2 inches
2026
“Never trust that that’s gonna hold you up” (center)
"steady (staircase)", "protect (headboard + tile)", "protect (radiator cover)" *listed clockwise (on back wall, right)
"peek (keyhole)" + "open (door + keyhole)"
*on back wall, listed left to right
"push (front door)", "brace (bannister)", "stumble (staircase)"
*listed clockwise
"steady (staircase)", "protect (headboard + tile)", "protect (radiator cover)" *listed clockwise
“cars don’t have feet” (left)
"push (front door)", "brace (bannister)", "stumble (staircase)"
*listed clockwise (on back wall, right)