Through the Mirror, Through the Mind Sculptures and drawings by Jessalyn Finch

Overview

On view: Every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.– 4 p.m.

On view: Every Saturday and Sunday from 10AM – 4PM starting June 6 – July 20, 2025

Opening Reception: Friday June 6, 6PM – 8:30PM

Jessalyn Finch merges large-scale drawing and interactive sculpture exploring the complexities of self-perception and identity. Influenced by the intersection of creativity and mindfulness, her work invites reflection on what it means to inhabit a body, particularly one that is constantly shifting, aging, and often felt as unfamiliar or fragmented. Drawing from personal experiences with body dysmorphia, and chronic pain, Finch examines the tension between the body as a vessel of creation and as an unchosen, distorted structure shaped by internal and external scrutiny, experiences and self-images that linger in our muscles, posture, and emotional responses. Through charcoal drawings that blend anatomical realism with surreal distortion, and interactive cardboard sculptures that extend bodily forms into shared space, Finch gives shape to these hazy, inherited perceptions. In doing so, she asks viewers to consider how past experiences, trauma, and shifting self-awareness influence not only how we see ourselves, but how we move through the world.

Artist Bio:

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, and an M.S. in Project Management. 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 completed an artist residency at NE Sculpture | Gallery Factory, and in January 2025, her work debuted at Slip Gallery in Seattle, WA. She continues to explore self-image through solo exhibitions, interdisciplinary performances, and mental health–focused projects presented at venues such as NE Sculpture in Minneapolis, the Bloomington Center for the Arts, and Threshold Arts in Rochester, MN.