Profile: NICOLAS FLEMING artist Last Update:December 22, 2015

Nicolas Fleming holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Studio Arts from Concordia University and a Master’s Degree in Visual Arts from University of Quebec in Montreal, and currently splits his time between studios in Montreal and Toronto. He has shown his work in several artist-run centers and galleries in Canada including Trois Points, McClure, and UQAM galleries in Montreal, and Axeneo7 in Gatineau, Quebec and has presented temporary outdoor sculptures internationally in Kassel, Germany, and Mexico City.

In 2014 he exhibited work on a larger scale as part of the Aires Libres Festival in Montreal and the Feature Contemporary Art Fair in Toronto, and in a solo show at ISE Cultural Foundation in New York, where he created a monumental architectural installation. In 2015 his drywall monuments have been exhibited at Papier15 Art Fair in Montreal and Maison des Arts de Laval, Quebec, as well as at Feature in Toronto for a second year, concurrent with his exhibition at TYPOLOGY.

Selected Work

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In fabricating monolithic sculptures and architectural structures which culminate in immersive environments, I explore the symbolism of art-dedicated objects and environments which recall solemn rituals taking place in cult-dedicated monuments. The engulfing neon glow and the temple-like focus or confinement of the reconfigured room gives the viewer pause, allowing for contemplation of the presence within. Displaying close affinities to the formal investigation and spatial considerations of minimalism, my work relies on construction materials and building techniques developed in daily work. I adapt construction site aesthetics to art-dedicated spaces; white cube environments are transformed with additions and alterations to walls, floors and lighting. By diverting the primary functions of commercial building materials such as drywall, plaster and polyurethane, I challenge the idea of permanence and durability that prevails in architecture and construction, ultimately ennobling these materials and techniques through the fine arts of sculpture and painting. The unusual monuments in turn revere their audiences, performing pilgrimages to different exhibition venues. Complementing the installations are furniture-sculptures which invite the viewer to inhabit them, and the spatial layout of these and other interior elements brings to mind peaceful places. Repurposing industrial and construction materials to create statuary, monoliths and monuments, I produce unexpected aesthetic combinations for the visitor to discover.

Something that accompanies one everyday and everywhere, exhibition review by Adam Barbu Espace Art Actuel #110, Spring–Summer 2015 Papier15 cuts a deal in vast new spaces M-KOS, May 3, 2015 Montréal s’expose radio interview with Marie-Gabrielle Ménard CIBL Montreal, February 22, 2015 Click Here radio interview with Mitchell Caplan CHUO Ottawa, January 14, 2015 L’art public « Entre les lignes » de la Sainte-Catherine Lafabriqueculturelle.tv, August 15, 2014 Aires libres s’ouvre à la sculpture monumentale, Marie-Ève Charron Le Devoir, June 14, 2014 Aires libres, art public, Éric Bolduc Ratsdeville.typepad.com, May 30, 2014 Aires libres : une galerie d’art en plein air, Éric Clément La Presse, May 21, 2014 Peinture, entre l’essence et l’excès, Jerôme Delgado Le Devoir, July 13, 2013 Off the Wall, Peinture Extrême – Cadrer le tout at Galerie Trois Points, Vincent Marquis The Belgo Report, July 16, 2013 Peinture extrême 2013 : troisième parcours, Normand Babin Montréalistement, July 9,  2013 Abundance in Scarcity, Michelle Kasprzak Hothaus Papers: Perspectives and Paradigms in Media Arts, edited by Joan Gibbons and Kaye Winwood, 2007

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