Drawing inspiration from her practice as a year-round swimmer in the San Francisco Bay, Emily Shepard creates richly layered works that explore states of presence, a search for wholeness and embodied understanding. Her process involves deconstructing and reassembling painted and drawn elements, choreographing them into compositions that pulse with authentic gestures and vital energy.
“Like submerging into cold water, in making art I surrender to sensation,” says Shepard. “I wade into an internal landscape and give form to what’s present, whether it’s uncomfortable, luminous, or an anxious struggle.”
The physicality of Shepard’s work exists in a balance with its vulnerability. Marking and painting on paper, joining elements with thread, tacking layers in place, she creates surfaces that speak to impermanence and fragility. These materials echo experiences of exposure— whether swimming in harsh conditions or facing abrupt health challenges—Shepard transforms moments of uncertainty into gateways of deep presence. The resulting works ground both artist and viewer in an immediate, embodied experience.
Bio:
Emily Shepard was born in Boston, Massachusetts and attended Middlebury College in Vermont, where she majored in history, and began her fine art studies. She relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area to attend the California College of the Arts, and in 1993 received an MFA with Distinction in work that integrated printmaking, book arts, and sculpture. Shepard was honored with the Barclay Simpson Award, and has shown her work locally and nationally in juried exhibitions, including the Crocker-Kingsley exhibition in Sacramento and on Artsy with Jen Tough and the Artist Alliance. She is a member of the artist-run gallery, Mercury20, and her work is included in private and corporate collections. Shepard’s practice of year round swimming in the San Francisco Bay without a wetsuit wakes up her senses, challenges her will, and informs her art.
Gallery Hours: Fri and Sat, 12 – 5 pm
Artists’ Reception: Saturday, March 15, 3 – 5 pm
Artists’ Talk: Saturday, March 22, 4 – 5 pm
Oakland Art Murmur / First Friday: April 4, 5 – 9 pm
Organizer
Founded in 2006, Mercury 20 is a contemporary art gallery established, supported and operated by San Francisco Bay Area artists. Mercury 20 maintains a gallery space in Oakland, CA as well as an online sales platform. Our collective operating structure supports our ability to experiment, develop, exhibit and advance our work and to sustain our arts community.