Edward Fleming’s career as a sculptor has taken a curvilinear form that echoes his work in stone. It began with studying sculpture while attending Occidental College in Los Angeles, California from 1974 to 1976. Sculpture continued to be a vital interest, even after starting a 5-year BA program at Tulane University’s School of Architecture in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1976. While studying architecture, apprenticing with architectural firms and beginning a design practice, he continued to make sculpture, although his artistic attention began steadily moving into the realm of buildings.
In 1981 Fleming returned to his hometown of Washington, DC. He continued his apprentice work with architectural firms while studying for board exams as well as designing and building houses on his own. Even though at this point there was virtually no time for sculpture as art, he firmly believed that buildings, particularly houses, could be designed and built as sculpture-one-lives-in. He committed himself to this ideal at the inception of his professional practice in 1983. For the duration of his professional architectural career, he designed and built mostly residential projects, which are indeed sculptures that people live in.
In 1993 he started a program in stone sculpture at the Corcoran School of Art located in Washington DC. His artistic response to stone was so powerful that within a short time he was juggling his full-time architecture practice with what became almost full-time carving. Discovering an intense desire to return to sculpture as art, he dedicated himself to exploration and learning as an artist.
The next few years were nomadic and highly educational. In the summer of 1994, he went to Pietrasanta, Italy for the first time, to study at the Pietrasanta Marble Carving Studio with Pasquale Martini and Cesare Riva. After that, he and his family moved from Washington, DC to Corrales, New Mexico for a year. Fleming devoted most of his time there to making stone sculpture and apprenticing part-time with sculptor Doug Hyde in Santa Fe. In the summer of 1995, Fleming and his family returned to Pietrasanta for a half-year where Fleming studied further at the same studio. After leaving Italy, he and his family spent six months living in Costa Rica, before finally returning to New Mexico in 1996. They moved to Galisteo, NM in the spring of 1997. This has become home-base; Fleming finished building his studio there in 2000 and now lives and works in Galisteo.
Since moving to Galisteo, Fleming has continued his formal art education. He has studied human anatomy at the Santa Fe Art Institute with painter Geoff Lawrence, portrait sculpture with sculptor Stephanie Huerta, drawing with painter Elias Rivera, as well as consistently attending artists’ figure-drawing groups in Santa Fe. He returned to Pietrasanta for a half-year in 2001, sharing studio space and learning from sculptor Rino Gianinni, elder marble artisan Pellacane Blasco and sculptor Rinaldo Bovecchi. During that time Fleming also studied figure-drawing at the Academy of Fine Art in Carrara.
In the beginning of 2001, Fleming made the decision to create sculpture full-time, drawing to a close his full-time architectural career and thus completing his circular path back to sculpture as art. The focus of his work is the human form; his artist’s statement gives an expanded understanding of Fleming’s relationship to his work.
Edward Fleming's CV follows, below:
EDWARD FLEMING Resume
Born:
November 21, 1955, Washington, DC
Education:
2009-present: Elias Rivera Studio, Santa Fe, NM, figure drawing
2008: Fran Nicholson Studio and Roberta Remy Studio, Santa Fe,NM: figure drawing
2007-2008: Jo Basiste Studio, Santa Fe, NM: figure drawing
2003-2006: Elias Rivera Studio, Santa Fe, NM: figure drawing
2001-02: Academy of Fine Art, Carrera, Italy: figure drawing
1998: Santa Fe Art Institute: anatomy
1994-95: Pietrasanta Marble Carving Studio, Pietrasanta, Italy: sculpture
1994: Doug Hyde studio, Santa Fe, NM: stone carving apprentice
1993-94: Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC: stone sculpture;
Pietrasanta Marble Carving Studio, Pietrasanta, Italy: sculpture
1976-81: Tulane University, New Orleans, LA: architecture degree
1974-76: Occidental College, Los Angeles: sculpture, architecture history
Career:
2001-present: full-time stone sculptor.
1993: begin stone sculpture
1983-present: licensed architect
1981-2001: builder/contractor
1977: started architectural practice
Group Shows:
2009: May- Carol Robinson Gallery, New Orleans, LA; June- Evergreen Sculpture Walk, Evergreen, CO; October- Sculpture at the Rivermarket, Little Rock, Arkansas; November- Tucson Jewish Community Center Inaugural Sculpture Exhibition, Tucson, AZ.
2008: March- Adams State College Exhibition, Alamosa, CO; June- Evergreen Sculpture Walk, Evergreen, CO; October- Sculpture at the Rivermarket, Little Rock, Arkansas.
2007: January- National Sculpture Society awards exhibition, Brookgreen Gardens, SC; June- Evergreen Sculpture Walk, Evergreen, CO; June-Hudson Valley Art Association Annual Exhibition, New York, NY; June-New Mexico Sculptor’s Guild Annual Exhibition, Santa Fe, NM; October- Sculpture at the RiverMarket, Little Rock, Arkansas.
2006: September- National Sculpture Society awards exhibition, Quick Center for the Arts, Fairfield, CN; October- Galisteo Studio Tour, Galisteo, NM.
2005: June- Evergreen Sculpture Walk, Evergreen, CO; June- Carol Robinson Gallery 25th anniversary exhibition, New Orleans, LA; September- Viselaya National Sculpture Competition, Concord, MA; October- Galisteo Studio Tour, Galisteo, NM; October- Carol Robinson Gallery virtual show; November- Justin Robert Galleries second anniversary exhibition, Santa Fe, NM.
2004: April- Sculptor's Dominion Invitational Show, San Antonio, TX; May- Hammer, Chisel and Stone Gallery, Morro Bay, CA; August- Sculpture in the Park, Loveland, CO; : September- National Sculpture Society awards exhibition, New York, NY; October- Galisteo Studio Tour, Galisteo, NM.
2003: August- Sculpture in the Park, Loveland, CO; September- Viselaya National Sculpture Competition, Concord, MA; September- Hammer, Chisel and Stone Gallery, Morro Bay, CA; September-Galisteo Fiesta art
show and auction, Galisteo, NM; October- Shidoni Gallery, Tesuque, NM; October- Corrales, NM Visual Arts Council 15th fine arts exhibition; December-Hammer, Chisel and Stone Gallery, Morro Bay, CA.
2002: May- Wilds Gallery, Hikawagun Shimaneken, Japan; October- Corrales Visual Arts Council 14th annual fine arts exhibition.
2000: August- Gallery 944, Santa Fe, NM
Solo Shows:
2005: August- Justin Roberts Galleries, Santa Fe, NM
Awards:
2009: Sternberg Award of Excellence, Art for the Mountain Community, Evergreen, CO
2007: People’s Choice Award and Brookgreen Medal, Brookgreen Gardens, National Sculpture Society 73rd Annual Exhibition
2006: Bronze Medal and Pietro and Alfrieda Montana Memorial Prize, National Sculpture Society 73rd Awards Exhibition.
2005: Prize for sensitivity of expression, Viselaya National Sculpture Competition; prize for communication of an important conceptual theme, Viselaya National Sculpture Competition.
2003: Best sculpture in show, Corrales Visual Arts Council
2002: Second in show, Corrales Visual Arts Council
Commissions:
Ramona Scholder, Galisteo, NM
Eldorado Animal Clinic, Santa Fe, NM
West Basin Preserve, Galisteo, NM
Ice Family, Monahans, TX
New Moon Overlook (four sculptures), Lamy, NM
Nancy Helle, Galisteo, NM
Southern Crescent (two sculptures), Lamy, NM
Roger and Joanne Lameroux; Santa Fe, NM
The Village at the Galisteo Basin Preserve (two sculptures), Lamy, NM
Teaching:
2009: Instutute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, NM: Portrait carving workshops; Poeh Arts Center, Pojoaque Pueble, NM(April and June): Portrait carving workshop; Southwest Stone Carving Symposium, Jemez Springs, NM: Instructor
2008: Monte del sol Charter School, Santa Fe, NM: Mentoring student in stone carving; Poeh Arts Center, Pojoaque Pueble, NM: Portrait carving workshop; Southwest Stone Carving Symposium, Jemez Springs, NM: Instructor
2007: Southwest Stone Carving Symposium, Jemez Springs, NM: Guest Artist Instructor
Gallery Representation:
Carol Robinson Gallery, New Orleans, LA
Justin Roberts Galleries, Santa Fe, NM
Lamsdorff Gallery, Paris, France
Professional Associations:
National Sculpture Society
New Mexico Sculptors’ Guild
Galisteo Art Association
Some Businesses I work with and appreciate are:
Galisteo Studio Tour - This site shows work from a group of artists in my community.
Justin Robert Galleries - This site shows my work and several other international artists
Viselaya Sculpture Competition - This is a biannual show in which I've shown twice and recieved awards for my work.
Commonweal Conservancy - I have been commissioned by this organization for large, public sculpture.
National Sculpture Society - I am a member of this organization and have shown my work at their headquarters in New York City
Polycor - This is a large, national stone supplier with whom I do business
Sculptor's Dominion - This is an annual show in San Antonio, Texas of sculptors from around the world and where I have shown
Evergreen Sculpture Walk - This is an annual show in Colorodo where I have shown my work
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Artist's Statement)
