FRED FLEISHER
Much of my work practice employs contemporary and vintage images and objects that allow me to address the cultural noise that surrounds our everyday lives. I focus on the varieties of cultural iconography and how these play out and are used within everyday norms, asking imperative, yet often neglected, questions. Why do people live in a constant state of medium to high alert? What is it that is being masked? What is looked for via self-help and spiritual texts? Mining aspects of life and culture, I make visible things that might otherwise go unnoticed. While imagery often contains a uniquely American narrative, I see a more universal recognition within it. To that end, my work develops archetypes of the psyche and the social milieu that can develop beyond borders. Information that envelops contemporary human culture and its antecedents is a focus. What people should value within greater culture (and is often overlooked) is the thing I focus upon, even when using personally derived visuals. Distant memories may hover in my work, but I'm most interested in a transference of the objects into something beyond their original meaning. With use of vibrant color, animated forms and popular cultural icons, my work provides a portal into a Jungian-like unconscious, collective dream state. I subvert above and below states of mind, humorously yet poignantly provoking the viewer to consider answers. Formulating ideas I remain open to any and all media that are necessary to achieve the intended result. Thus, my practice is interdisciplinary and this cross media methodology finds its way into my sculptures, installations, paintings, drawings, performances and videos.
I was born in Pennsylvania and live and work in Brooklyn, NY. After an enlistment in the army I earned a BFA and BS from Penn State and an MFA from Queens College, CUNY. Currently my work is affiliated with TFLR Contemporary, Brooklyn, NY and Stuart & Co., Chicago, IL. My work has also been included in a number of group exhibits and I have worked with a number of curators, both nationally and internationally. Over the last several years I have undertaken some curatorial endeavors, collaborating with other curators and artists. I am also an Assistant Professor of Visual Arts at SUNY, College at Old Westbury.
