Out of Body – Jessica Plattner
Out of Body – Jessica Plattner
Opening Reception:
Saturday, January 24, 2026 – Music and refreshments from 7pm – 9pm.
The gallery will be open from 5pm – 9pm that evening as part of the Gallery Hop with LA Gallery 2.0, Trianon Gallery, the Southern Alberta Art Gallery, and Legend Art Gallery.
The self-portraits in this exhibition reflect an emotional paradox: the desire to be known, and the simultaneous fear of being fully seen. This basic human conundrum effects everyone to differing degrees — we crave connection, but worry that revealing too much of ourselves will leave us vulnerable to rejection, judgement, or harm. We try to control what we allow others to see, constructing personas through a combination of candour and deception. Of course, regardless of these attempts, we can’t control (or even know) how others see us. The more we build barriers to hide behind, the more we unwittingly reveal other parts of ourselves. This absurd but deeply human cycle runs throughout the paintings in “Out of Body.”
We dress up as ourselves every day, constructing our identities with both honesty and guile. The development of these paintings is similar — the process is sometimes obvious and sometimes concealed. Different materials and approaches co-exist on the canvas, ranging from tightly-rendered depictions to unplanned stains of dripping paint. Which is more “true,” an accumulation of blended brushstrokes that look like something recognizable, or an abstract drip of paint on the page? Like the compilation of mark-making techniques, the figures in these pieces are also layered, with different versions overlapping and obscuring each other as they strive to present a cohesive self.
The body is central to my understanding of myself and how others see me. Recently, the body that I used to take for granted has revealed hints of danger — breast cancer scares, risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, menopause. My body threatens to become alien and separate from my previous understanding of myself. Society also seems to see me differently as I age, or stops seeing me at all. The invisibility of middle age brings a sense of loss, but also freedom. I am beginning to envision a new understanding of my identity, with a different relationship to my body and myself. I hope that viewers can recognize themselves somewhere along the cycle of seeing and being seen, and that viewers with all different bodies and identities can relate to these pieces.
Jessica Plattner is an artist and educator, and Coordinator of the Art and Design Program at Medicine Hat College. Born in the USA, Plattner also lived in Mexico and
Italy before moving to Canada in 2014. She earned a BFA in Painting from Washington University School of Fine Art in St. Louis, and an MFA in painting from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia and Temple Rome, Italy. She participated in artist residencies at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, The Vermont Studio Center, and Studio Art Centers International (SACI) in Florence, Italy. A highlight of her early career was being awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to Mexico. Jessica’s work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout the USA, Mexico, Canada, and Italy, and was recently added to the permanent collection of the Alberta Foundation of the Arts.
Date:January 24th, 2026 - March 13th, 2026
Location:Casa - Main Gallery
Casa Program Guide
The Casa Program Guide is produced three times a year; Winter, Spring/Summer and Fall. Inside the guide find listings for the upcoming class and workshop schedule, upcoming exhibitions at The Gallery, information about artists in residence and seasonal events in the building. Program guides are free. Pick-up guides at Casa or at facilities throughout the city.