CB Talks to Alex Flemming

Visual Arts

Written by

Mateus Furlanetto

English

Published on

Mar 6, 2023

Auto Retrato (Self Portrait) - Alex Flemming, 2009.

Alex Flemming is a Brazilian artist living in Berlin. He is a painter, sculptor, engraver, photographer, and collagist; in short, his artistic production presents itself in multiple formats. Acrylic paint, vibrant colors, the human body, texts, and poems are some of the distinctive elements of his work.
Body Builders, Apocalypse, Flying Carpets, Tombstones, and the panels for Sumaré Station of São Paulo's subway are some of the artistic series created by Flemming, among many others. He has participated in several solo and group exhibitions in Brazil, Europe, and the United States.

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Mateus Furlanetto (MF) - When did you move to Berlin, and why?

Alex Flemming (AF) - This second time, I moved to Berlin in 1991. I lived here the first time between 1984 and 1986.

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MF - How was the process of your discovery as an artist? When did you decide that you were going to be an artist?‍

AF - I'm going to say something that many people can't grasp, but I know I've been an artist from a very early age, maybe five years old. I personally think that nobody "decides" to be an artist: either you are born an artist, or you are not. I don't believe in art schools: they can (and should) provide the necessary techniques, but no art school makes an artist - one already is an artist when entering the school or will never be.
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‍MF - How is your work routine?

AF - I am a workaholic: I go to the studio religiously every day. My motto and fate are: produce, produce, produce, produce.... and produce!

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MF - What is your creative process like?

AF - My creative process is absolutely mental and cerebral: I am not a romantic artist.

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MF - Which artists inspire you?

AF - For me, the top triad is Di Cavalcanti, Portinari, and Volpi.

Os paparazzi (The paparazzi), 2009.

"For me, the human being is the center of the universe, and the body is its representation. All my work reflects Eros and Tanatos, Life and Death, Man and God, Alpha and Omega: the beginning is the end and the end is a new beginning."

MF - Do you consider yourself a lucky person? Would you have an example to share?

AF - I don't believe in "lucky people," and I certainly don't consider myself to be in this eventual group. I believe in talent and hard work.

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MF - Where was your first and last individual or group exhibition?

AF - My first solo show was in a gallery in Santos in 1977, and I have just participated (2022) in the commemorative show of the 100 years of the Week of Modern Art in the CCBB in São Paulo, Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte.

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MF - When you are in Berlin, what do you miss about Brazil? When you are in Brazil, what do you miss about Berlin?

AF - In Berlin, I miss the Brazilian sun, and in São Paulo, I miss the German silence.

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MF - You have a work in Sumaré Station of São Paulo's subway. How was the process of choosing the photos and texts?

AF - The photos I took over a weekend, setting up a studio at MASP and inviting people to be portrayed. The texts were a tribute to Brazil's 500 years, based on its literature: there are excerpts from José de Anchieta to Haroldo de Campos, going through Gregório de Matos, Castro Alves, Olavo Bilac, Augusto dos Anjos, Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Mário de Andrade, and many others.

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MF - How was the creative process of the Body Builders series?

AF - For me, the human being is the center of the universe, and the body is its representation. All my work reflects Eros and Tanatos, Life and Death, Man and God, Alpha and Omega: the beginning is the end and the end is a new beginning.

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MF - Tell us about what you are working on at the moment.

AF - My newest series of works is called Long Play Memoirs, where I paint over vinyl records, continuing my non-traditional paintings-on-surfaces work.