Gabrielle Shelton

Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY, USA

Artist statement

Brooklyn-based sculptor Gabrielle Shelton forges a dialogue between structure and story, crafting starkly elegant sculptures that blur the boundaries between function and abstraction. Rooted in the disciplines of Bauhaus design and minimalism, her work is a meditation on form, repetition, and the architecture of memory. Working primarily in bronze, steel, and aluminum, Shelton fabricates dystopian metal landscapes and stair-like constructions that evoke both industrial precision and poetic restraint. Her cityscapes are assembled from the leftover fragments of architectural projects — detritus transformed into relics. These cast-off parts serve as quiet amulets, acknowledging the beauty of what’s been abandoned in pursuit of something “better,” or for someone “more important.” In these remnants, Shelton finds rhythm, balance, and a story worth telling. The stair is Shelton’s obsession and central motif — a symbol of movement, ascension, and impossible destinations. This fascination began in her childhood, as she navigated the maze of forgotten stairways woven through the hills of Los Angeles. Over the years, she has constructed monumental, functional staircases spanning five stories; yet, her sculptural stairs defy utility, stacked, inverted, polished to a gleam, or left raw and oxidized. Drawing on her decades-long career in metalwork and construction, Shelton merges the rigor of engineering with conceptual inquiry. Her stairs live in a space between reality and...

Artwork