Kelly Halseth

At the Altar of Resentment is a sculptural installation that examines the emotional and physical weight of gendered rituals tied to Western, white, colonial definitions of womanhood. Composed of oversized cast bronze grooming tools, a discolored bra, and a weathered sewing table, the work exposes the quiet violence and emotional labor embedded in these routines, inviting viewers to confront their familiarity and internalization.

The bronze objects, marked by imperfections, contrast their mirror finish with a raw physicality, highlighting the tension between monumentality and intimacy. The bra, worn by the artist over several months with a bronze underwire replacing the original, bears stains formed through contact with the body, recording discomfort, weight, and containment. The sewing table, repurposed as a vanity both within the work and in the artist’s home, becomes a site where personal ritual meets historical burden. 

By transforming “instruments of beauty” into heavy, enduring monuments, the work reconsiders the gestures and spaces through which femininity is constructed and maintained. Bronze, historically used for mirrors, monuments, and weapons, embodies both power and oppression. At the Altar of Resentment asks what we are worshipping when we perform these rituals, and what it might mean to step away from the altar.