Opening Reception:
Thursday, October 8, 5:00pm – 7:00pm
Artist Talk:
Thursday, December 3, 6:00pm – 7:30pm
The Trustman Art Gallery Presents I’m here If you need me, a solo exhibition by Kate Holcomb Hale.
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.
Kate Holcomb Hale (b. 1976, Buffalo, NY) is an interdisciplinary artist who lives and works in Arlington, MA. Kate’s artwork examines how the built environments shape our experiences and memories via drawing, painting, sculpture, and craft. Kate received her MFA in critical theory and studio art from Maine College of Art in Portland, Maine. She has exhibited throughout the United States and internationally, including exhibitions at The Danforth Art Museum (Framingham, MA), Zabludowicz Collection (London, UK), Praise Shadows Art Gallery (Boston, MA), Spilt Milk Gallery (Edinburgh Scotland) and LaiSun Keane Gallery (Boston, MA). Kate has been awarded residencies at the Jenny Family Residency in New Edinburgh, Nova Scotia and Virginia Center for Creative Arts in Amherst, VA. In 2026 she was awarded a Mass Cultural Council Creative Individual Grant. Kate’s artwork has appeared in The Boston Globe, Boston Art Review and is featured in Motherhood as Muse, Mother Art Prize 4th Edition and History, Practice and Pedagogy: Empathic Engagements in the Visual Arts.
Trustman Art Gallery hours are 10 AM – 4:30 pm, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and 10 am – 7 pm on Thursday. The Gallery is free, open to the public and wheelchair accessible.
The Trustman Art Gallery is located within Simmons University at 300 Fenway, 4th floor, Boston MA 02115. For more information, contact Loretta Park at [email protected].
Find us on Instagram @trustman_gallery or visit the Trustman Art Gallery.