Jessica Du Preez

Jessica Du Preez is a Lecturer in the Painting and Drawing Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). She holds a BFA and BA from Florida Southern College (summa cum laude) and an MFA from SAIC, complemented by a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Painting & Drawing. Her work critically examines gender-based violence, body shame, and performative femininity through mixed-media, printmaking, and installation art.

Key exhibitions include Down There at Woman Made Gallery (2024), the Terrain Biennial (2019), and SNEHTA in Athens (2021). Her research explores semiotics of bodily symbols like lips and butterflies, aiming to subvert gendered clichés and normalize anatomical diversity. Notable series include Papilionoidea Yoni (2020), M O I S T (2019), and That Bitch (2018), which critique societal taboos around female bodies and language.

Awarded the 2021-2022 Teaching Fellowship, Du Preez has taught figure drawing and studio courses since 2019. She also served as Administrative Director for Ceramics, Performance, and other departments. Her practice combines material experimentation with socio-cultural critique, addressing themes like emotional labor, victim-blaming, and the Madonna-Whore dichotomy.

Recent works include SLIT Series (2020) exploring vaginal symbolism and Yoni Affirmations (2020), affirming vulvar diversity. Her installations and prints interrogate beauty standards, often using glitter, makeup, and provocative text to disrupt viewer expectations.