LIVING IN THE DISCONNECT
Jessalyn Finch
April 2 – June 8, 2025
ARTIST RECEPTION: Friday, April 4, 5 – 7 pm
Free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided. RSVPs APPRECIATED
ARTIST TALK & MENTAL HEALTH PANEL DISCUSSION: Thursday, May 8
5:30 pm - Jessalyn Finch Artist Talk at Threshold Arts Gallery
5:50 pm - move to Historic Chateau Theatre
6:00 pm - Jean Prokott Artist Talk at Chateau Theatre Gallery
6:30 pm - Panel discussion with Jessalyn Finch, Jean Prokott, Rochester Poet Laureate and curator of Trust the Hours, and Brandy R. Allen, MA, LPCC, LLC of Onward Counseling, facilitated by Naura Anderson of Threshold Arts.
Free and open to the public. RSVP STRONGLY RECOMMENDED
ARTIST STATEMENT
Jessalyn Finch merges large-scale drawing and interactive sculpture to explore self-perception and identity. Influenced by the overlap of creativity and mindfulness, her work is rooted in awareness, inviting reflection on what it means to inhabit a human body.
Her current work focuses on her experience with body dysmorphia, using charcoal drawings and cardboard sculpture to examine the body as both a vessel of creation and an unchosen structure—one that shifts, ages, and exists beyond our control. In her drawings, grayscale realism blends with surreal distortions, subtly pushing anatomy beyond its natural limits. Her self-taught cardboard sculptures extend these themes into physical space, inviting audiences to interact with them. Through this interplay of movement, mindfulness, and form, Finch prompts audiences to reconsider their own bodily awareness and how it influences their interactions with others.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Jessalyn Finch is a multidisciplinary artist exploring the fluid relationship between self-perception and the human body. Originally trained in printmaking and drawing, she earned her B.S. in Fine Art from UW-La Crosse with studies in pre-med and Eastern philosophy. A near-death experience in 2017 propelled her to fully commit to professionally creating art, leading to her Emerging Artist Grant (2018) for Shadow Form: The Human Body’s Secret Life.
Her practice has since expanded into large-scale drawings and interactive sculpture, exploring body dysmorphia, anatomy, and movement. As a Mayo Clinic Certified Yoga Instructor, she integrates mindfulness and embodiment into her work. In 2024, Finch joined NE Sculpture | Gallery Factory for her first residency and debuts Echoes Within at Slip Gallery (Seattle, 2025). She continues her exploration of self-image through solo exhibitions across Minnesota including Bloomington Center for the Arts and Calendula Gallery in St. Paul.
