FRED FLEISHER
My work employs images and objects that allow me to address the mindscape that surrounds everyday life. Mining aspects of life and culture, I make visible those things that might otherwise go unnoticed while making associations with disparate forms and influences, often found within American society.
I use unexpected elements to subvert expectations that are fed to people on a daily basis. The work demonstrates the often-confused psychology of living in a world that makes claims to the primacy of civilization, while seemingly undermining the only world where people can live, where everything lives. I see knowledge and power being sold, manipulated or masked by our own culture of consumption. We are used, yet we are also complicit. My work provides a portal into a Jungian-like unconscious, collective dream state that forces reflection beyond the
oft-used humorous elements that it might contain.
I create uncomfortable realizations in a variety of ways, whether through hybrids, alterations, or appropriations. There is an exploration of the pain and struggle that is inherent in the everyday, but often overlooked: mass-production, consumerism, loss, power and indoctrination. There are moments where the cynical collides with the hopeful. Where figures and subjects, placed in unique situations, are activated in the same way people viewed toys, animals and consumables when they were children.
While being grounded in two- and three-dimensional platforms, my work is eclectic. That is by design as I remain open to any and all media that are necessary to achieve my result. Thus, my practice is interdisciplinary and this cross-media methodology finds its way into my paintings, sculptures, installations, drawings, photographs, videos and performances.
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 - a communal, collaborative endeavor based in Brooklyn, NY. I have had a number of solo, two and three person exhibitions and have been included in many notable group exhibits. I have worked with curators, both nationally and internationally and 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.
