Skip to Content

Jessica Frelinghuysen: “It’s Exercise Time”, An Aerobic Art Show

Small jessercise image

Detroit/​Hamtramck artist and Stamps Faculty member Jessica Frelinghuysen opened her one-woman show, It’s Exercise Time”, at Popps Packing Gallery on October 9th

It’s Exercise Time” is an Aerobic Art Show that includes photography, graphics, sculpture, interventions and participatory performance in the form of a Jessercise” instructional workout.

Frelinghuysen’s show was recently reviewed in the online publication Detroit Art Review.

All of the best performance artists I’ve seen in action assume characters that are somewhat amplified versions of themselves. Frelinghusen is a natural at this. While her performances certainly bear a trace of the theatrical- she assumes a particular garb and enters her performance space, be it the gallery or city street, with a point to make- she inhabits them in such a way that she never stops feeling present, accessible, to her audience. Significantly, she refers to the clothes she designs and wears for her performances as uniforms” rather than costumes. This points to the importance of the uniform as an entry point, cultural signifier, and problem-solving accessory. Frelinghuysen’s many bodies of work all have a problem to be solved as their starting point. Her ongoing Paper Helmets” series aims at solving problems of personal communication…“It’s Exercise Time!” makes up one part of her exploration of a somewhat more complex problem- the vast divide between art” space, and the rest of the world.

Frelinghuysen wants to bring a new audience into the gallery setting. Personal trainer Mark Parker of RetroFit Gym in Royal Oak led an exercise session for gallery goers during the opening. On October 24, an instructor from Detroit Yoga Lab will lead a class, and there is more to follow. 

Join Frelinghuysen in two more participatory Jessercise class performaces on Saturday, October 24th at 2 pm and Sunday November 1st at 4 pm for the closing reception. 

Wear your best spandex and be ready to sweat delicately in the name of art! 

Jessica Frelinghuysen: It’s Exercise Time!” an Aerobic Workout Art Show | Popp’s Packing