ON THE MOUNTAINTOP

TYRRELL WINSTON (B. 1985)
ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP
signed, inscribed and dated ‘MY NAME HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN LIGHTS, Tyrrell Winston ’24’ (lower edge)
ink on magazine ad 6
5/8 × 10 1/8 inches (16.8 × 25.7 cm)
Executed in 2024.

NOTES: 
Born in Southern California in 1985 and now based in Detroit, Tyrrell Winston is a multidisciplinary artist whose work examines sport, celebrity, memory, and the systems through which cultural value is assigned. His practice began with collecting discarded objects from the streets and basketball courts of Manhattan and Brooklyn. By reorganizing worn basketballs, abandoned nets, and other found materials, Winston transforms overlooked objects into records of use, aspiration, and collective experience.

In ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP, Winston intervenes in a vintage Sports Illustrated image of Michael Jordan at the height of his early championship-era fame. By partially obscuring the source material, he shifts the focus from a familiar sporting image to the language surrounding Jordan’s ascent and the isolation that can accompany extraordinary success. Encapsulated in a PSA slab, the altered magazine page is reframed as both artwork and collectible. The presentation reflects Winston’s continued interest in authentication, preservation, and the ways cultural value is attached to celebrity ephemera. Here, the “mountaintop” becomes both a symbol of achievement and a more ambiguous space, raising questions about what remains after an athlete has reached the summit.

Winston’s work has been presented internationally, with solo exhibitions at Cranbrook Art Museum, Library Street Collective, Stems Gallery, Volery Gallery, and LANDMARK and Belowground in Hong Kong. His work is held in collections including Cranbrook Art Museum, the Columbus Museum of Art, Nike, Aimé Leon Dore, and the Detroit Pistons.

Read our interview with Tyrrell Winston here.