Sensing Place Events:

• Oakland Art Murmur / First Friday: September 5, October 3, 5 – 9 pm

Mercury 20 Gallery, 475 25th Street, Oakland CA Open: Friday & Saturday: 12-5pm and by appt

Excited to share that I will have a solo show at Mercury 20 Gallery in Oakland.

Exhibition dates are March 14 – April 19, 2025

The Gallery is open 12–5 pm, Friday and Saturday. Or reach out to me for an appointment or to get my schedule for when I'll be gallery sitting. And please join my mailing list; 

click on "Contact" in the navigation to sign up.

Opening Reception: Saturday, March 15, 2025

Artist Talk: Saturday, March 22, 2025

First Friday / Oakland Art Murmur: Friday, April 4, 6–9 pm

Mercury 20 Gallery

475 25th Street (between Broadway & Telegraph)

Oakland CA

Here's the show press release:

Drawing inspiration from her practice as a year-round swimmer in the San Francisco Bay, 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– transforming moments of uncertainty into gateways of deep presence. The resulting works ground both artist and viewer in an immediate, embodied experience.

To read more about my work, please check out my art statement, or the essay written by LA art critic, Peter Frank.