ALAN and MICHAEL FLEMING

STATEMENT

"Alternative sports like skateboarding and le parkour treat the city as a playground. As artists, we are interested in this re-appropriation of space through bodily movement. In a similarly playful yet subversive way, we climb, traverse, and meld into architecture. Our work investigates a phenomenological relationship to the world framed by a post-minimal aesthetic. We draw from a diverse set of movement disciplines in order to create our own physical vocabulary and all of our projects begin with either the body or the site. Employing performance, video and photography, we create work that deals with issues of space, presence, and the body."

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Alan and Michael Fleming currently live and work in Chicago. They both recently received their MFA in Studio from the performance department at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2007 they both graduated from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with BFA degrees in painting. The Fleming twins have been working collaboratively since 2005. Their work has been exhibited nationally and internationally including shows in Chicago, New York, Berlin, Glasgow and Rio De Janeiro. In 2008 their video series "At Rest: The Body in Architecture" won the "Performing" section at the Kinolewchyk Festival at the Idea Museum in Lviv, Ukraine. In 2006 they were awarded the "Group 4 Award" from the Foundry Art Centre for their video "Defining the Frame".

Michael and Alan were both awarded Trustee Merit Scholarships from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and share the award of "Most Outstanding Senior" in the painting department from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Alan is currently a member of Culture Shock Chicago dance troupe and has been teaching Hip Hop and Breakdancing for the past three years. Alan received the Professional Advancement Award in Dance from the School at Jacob's Pillow in 2009. Michael is currently a board member of the not-for-profit organization OPENSOURCE Art, a teacher and a freelance designer for various institutions and artists. In 2009 Michael received the Jacob K. Javits Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education.