MBS Gallery & Nina Hassele
are pleased to present “Altered/States”
An Exhibition by Courtney Wynn Sheet
Exhibition Statement: Altered/States is an integration of three distinct yet connected bodies of work created during the pandemic years. Although contrasting in personality, each includes the altering and reconfiguration of images or texts that bridge points in time to merge the past and present — generating possible, alternative futures.
These works reach toward the re-imagining of history and time. They offer the viewer fresh contexts for seeing an image, icon or language in order to flip familiar narratives and the general accepted order of physical and social realities. The hope is that these pieces trigger our minds to unexplored or forgotten territory through the reversing, re-imagining and rearranging of these familiar images and patterns.
The text-based work of my alter ego Wynn Doe touches on a few pervasive themes that are crucial matters of our time. This particular series is a response to those that have attempted to silence and discredit voices of social responsibility, science, anti-racism, human rights and justice by highlighting language and ideologies that have so often been wielded within our politics. While many of the collages highlight heroic women from our past, there is an elevated thread of androgyny and femaleness woven through each of the series.
Altered/States explores the spaces we exist in geographically, culturally and sociologically, while connecting the threads of our common humanity and diversity through the passage of time.These images encourage the viewer to let their imaginations take the reins and create their own interpretations within these altered states.
BIO: Courtney Sheets is a self-taught mixed-media artist who has worked within many mediums including wood sculpting, jewelry design, photography, collage, drawing and painting. She spent her childhood on a small farm in northern Indiana during analog times. Soon after graduating college she departed her homeland to explore both coasts and the American Southwest. She began her formal creative studio practice in 2007 while based in San Francisco, and finishing her M.A. in Women’s Spirituality, a degree that encompasses women’s roles throughout history within culture, art and religion. This is when she began to embrace herself as an artist and shift her gaze more fully to the arts.
Her diverse background includes time performing in a boutique circus, co-creating interactive sound installations for art events, making life-cast portraits; and many years as a healing arts practitioner. During the pandemic she became certified as an end-of-life doula, and continues to explore death-positive conversations and practices. All of these modalities and experiences have influenced her art and support her life as an artist.
She has lived all over the country including New England, New York City, Tucson, San Francisco, Portland, Oregon and the Hawaiian Islands. Her work has been in the publications Origin Magazine, Juxtapoz, and Yoga Journal; and art spaces across the expanse of Texas. She moved to San Antonio in 2019 and works out of South Side Living and Maker Spaces where she assists the gallery Space C7, and curates Outrider Art + Objects, a micro-gallery with a female- centered ethos and focus on under-represented artists. You can find her on IG at outriderart and equalpartscourtney, and her websites: courtneywynnsheets.com and endoflifearts.com.
Exhibition Preview March 3rd, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM | Exhibition will run through June 2, 2023
For more information and private viewings contact:
Lesley Ramsey | (512) 507-4185 | lesley@mbslife.com | MBS Gallery
Courtney Wynn Sheets | (929) 215-1061 | outriderart@gmail.com