Frank Fleming
Between Fantasy and Reality

2015 | Birmingham Museum of Art

Poster

Fonts in Use:
Akzidenz Grotesk and Mercury

Between Fantasy and Reality took a focused approach in exploring the early period of Alabama artist Frank Fleming. Fleming worked as an artist in Alabama for over forty years and is best known for his large-scale bronze sculptures, many of which can be found across the city of Birmingham. Between Fantasy and Reality highlighted Fleming’s sculptures produced between 1970-1985, a period when he worked primarily with clay, stoneware, and ceramics. Taking on forms inspired by imagination but referencing reality, Fleming’s sculptures often depict animals and invoke humor, curiosity, and can sometimes be melancholy. Eighteen sculptures were featured in the exhibition and although many are small in size, Fleming’s impeccable attention to detail highlights his workmanship and mastery of the medium at a very early phase in his career.

The presentation of the exhibition in the main lobby of the museum presented the problem of no convenient space for an introduction or title wall. The solution became hanging banners on the interior columns, using a sculpture, assumed to include a self-portrait and an archival photo of the artist.