BIO
International, cross-disciplinary artist Shelby Fleming (she/her) specializes in sculpture and installation art. Fleming’s work focuses on the physical and psychological body’s fragility and resilience as it relates to her ongoing medical complications. With a BFA and MFA, Fleming has attended residencies at Vermont Studio Center, Chautauqua School of Art, and Interform. Fleming’s artwork has been exhibited at the CICA Museum, South Korea; the International Sculpture Conference; and The Fort Smith Regional Art Museum. Fleming is the recipient of the Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts’s 2023 Artist Award and Chateau Orquevaux’s Emerging Artist Grant.
Artist Statement
The human body is the center of my cross-disciplinary artistic practice: whether it is abstract or representational, my work revolves around the body’s fragility and resilience as it faces internal, external, or psychological factors. Many of the patterns and structures in my sculptures transform and draw inspiration from microscopic images, highlighting the 37.2 trillion cells that work endlessly to make us who we are, for better or worse. My work is inspired by my own medical and bodily experiences as I navigate being a neurodivergent woman with chronic medical conditions. Sharing my own experiences through visual art often encourages others to share theirs; the reaction is often therapeutic to viewers as they learn they are not alone in their complications or frustrations with the inequality and inaccessibility of medical services.
My installations approach from a larger perspective as I account for the viewer’s body and viewing experience in relation to the space: the scale, sculptural placement, lighting, and negative space are all elements I consider when constructing installations. In this created space, the viewer’s body is both confronted and included in the installation, thereby completing the piece. By making the internal external, my art works as a catalyst, giving viewers, particularly those who have not had a major medical complication, a moment of pause to evaluate their own bodies in relation to the space and gain a greater understanding of the extra obstacles someone has to endure to live a normal life. large scale public pieces, as well as lots of gallery scale work. Paul works in fabricated and forged metals, and enjoys producing both functional and sculptural metalwork. He identifies with the craft of blacksmithing and associates with that fine crafts community, and enjoys being between the worlds of contemporary art and fine craft.
Shelby Fleming
(618) 973-2301
https://www.shelbylynnefleming.com/
Education
2020 Master of Fine Arts, University of Arkansas School of Art, Fayetteville, AR
2016 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Art History Minor, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Residencies
2024 Chateau Orquevaux Artist and Writers Residency, Orquevaux, France (September)
2021 Interform Emerge 3 Designer Cohort, Interform, Springdale, AR
2019 Artist in Residency, Chautauqua School of Visual Arts, Chautauqua NY
2018 Artist in Residency, Vermont Studio Art Center, Johnson, VT
Professional Experience
2024 Independent Contractor: Digital Fabrication and Product Design, Fayetteville, AR
Walton Arts Center, True Creative, City of Fayetteville, multiple patent-pending projects
2021-2023 Fabrication and Robotics Lab Coordinator, Fayetteville Public Library Center for Innovation, Fayetteville, AR
2020- 2021 Exhibits Technician, Scott Family Amazeum, Bentonville, AR
2017-2020 Wood and Metal Shop Head Monitor, University of Arkansas School of Art,
Fayetteville, AR
2018-2020 Contracted Preparatory Assistant, The Momentary and 21C Museum Hotels Bentonville, AR
2019 Instructor, University of Arkansas School of Art Sculpture Department, Fayetteville, AR
2017-2019 Teacher’s Assistant, University of Arkansas School of Art Foundations and Sculpture, Fayetteville, AR
2016-2017 Studio Assistant, Edwardsville, IL
2014-2016 Saturday Art Studio K-12 Instructional Student Teacher Mentor, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL
Solo Exhibitions
2024 Density, Loloft, Rogers, AR
2023 Bold and Brittle, Arts on Main, Van Buren, AR
2022 NWA Fashion Week: Gut Feeling, The Momentary, Bentonville, AR
2021 Somewhere Between Chaos and Serenity Solo Exhibition, Mount Sequoyah Creative Spaces NWA, Fayetteville, AR
2020 Gut Feeling, University of Arkansas Sculpture Gallery, Fayetteville, AR Escape, The Apollo on Emma, Springdale, AR
2019 Shelby Fleming Solo Exhibition, Arsagas at the Depot, Fayetteville, AR
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024 Inclusive, Regional Art Musuem Annual Invitational, Ft. Smith, AR
Vitality of Spring, Ammplify NWA, Mount Sequoyah, Fayetteville, AR Wowza Ball, Mount Sequoyah, Fayetteville, AR
60 in 60, Live in America, The Medium, Springdale, AR
2023 Opening Children’s Safety Center of Washington County, Springdale, AR Interform Assembly Fashion and Art Biennial, Springdale, AR
Vivid Connections, Herd/Heard, Cake
Looking Through+, Mount Sequoyah Creative Spaces NWA, Fayetteville, AR
2022 Our Art, Our Region, Our Time, Walton Art Center, Joy Pratt Markham Gallery, Fayetteville, AR
Threads of Identity, Art Ventures, Fayetteville, AR
Women in Art, The Artist Collective, Rogers, AR
2021 Our Art, Our Region, Our Time, Walton Arts Center, Joy Pratt Markham Gallery, Fayetteville, AR
Impressions From the Mountain, Mount Sequoyah Creative Spaces NWA, Fayetteville, AR
YES. And...., Interfrom Assembly Fashion and Art Biennial, Springdale, AR
2020 The Shape of Our World, Art Ventures: Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center, Fayetteville, AR
Togethering, Huston Center for Photography, Houston Texas, Online Exhibition
Art Must Go On, Scattered Gallery Project, London, United Kingdom, Online Exhibition Queers Just Want to Have Fun, Queerly Collective, Online Exhibition
2019 Le Galeriste Wearable Art, Montreal, Canada
Form 2019, CICA Museum, Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea
19.5% Women in Power and Policy, Little Berlin Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
VACI Student and Emerging Artists, Fower-Kellogg Art Center, Chautauqua, NY Woman Before Us’ Still Life, The Theater at Gibney 280 Broadway, New York, NY Connect 4, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
2018 Regular Style, University of Montana Juried Exhibition, online
Little Sculpture Show, 28th International Sculpture Conference, Philadelphia, PA Permeant Flux and Everyday Fragility, Saint Louis Artist Guild, Saint Louis, MO
2017 Digital Disconnect, Apothecary Gallery, Chattanooga TN
Varsity Art XX, Art Saint Louis, Saint Louis, MO
Constructed Visions II: National Juried Exhibition, The Saint Louis Artists’ Guild, Saint Louis, MO
2016 Manifestations, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Art and Design Gallery, Edwardsville, IL
16th Annual Sculpture on Campus Competition, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL
64 Arts National Juried Exhibition, Buchanan Center for the Arts, Monmouth, IL
Serendipity, Art Saint Louis, Saint Louis, MO
2015 Access-Able: Do Not Touch the Art, Living Arts Studio, Maplewood, MO
15th Annual Sculpture on Campus Competition, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL
2014 BRAs on Broadway, Jocoby Arts Center, Alton, IL
14th Annual Sculpture on Campus Competition, Southern Illinois University
Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL
Artist Lectures and Panels
2024 Tools and Equipment for Prototyping, University of Arkansas McMillon Innovation
Studios, Fayetteville, AR
2023 How Digital Fabrication has Changed Art Marking, Fayetteville Public Library, Fayetteville, AR
2022 From Maker to Market, Arkansas Library Association Conference, Fort Smith, AR
2019 ARTSlam Presenter, 29th International Sculpture Conference: The Multifaceted Maker,
Portland, OR
Visiting Artist Lecture, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
Juror: Intimate Objects, Kansas City Art Institute BFA Sculpture Exhibition at the University of Arkansas Sculpture Gallery, Fayetteville, AR
2018 ARTSlam Presenter, 28th International Sculpture Conference: Defining Moments in the Face of Change, Philadelphia, PA
Visiting Artist Demonstration, The Niche at Crystal Bridges Museum of Contemporary Art, Bentonville, AR
2017 Visiting Artist Lecture, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN ARTSlam Presenter, 27th International Sculpture Conference: Intersections + Identities,
Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
Awards, Honors, and Grants
2023 Biennial Juried Artist Registry, The Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts
2021 Bridge Fund Grant, CACHE Studio, Bentonville, AR
2020 University of Arkansas School of Art and Graduate School, Fayetteville, AR
2020 MFA Thesis Grant, Summer Travel and Research Grant
2019 MFA Project Grant, Summer Research Grant, Summer Travel Grant, MFA Travel Grant
2018 Graduate Student Travel Grant, Summer Travel Scholarship, MFA Project Grant
2017 University of Arkansas Graduate Fellowship, Graduate Student Travel Grant
2019 Juror’s Selection Award, Cross-Sections, University of Montana Juried Exhibition, online
VACI Partners Scholarship, Chautauqua School of Preforming and Visual Arts, Chautauqua, NY
2018 Merit Based Artist’s Grant, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
First Place, Constructed Visions II: National Juried Exhibition, The Saint Louis Artists’
Guild, Saint Louis MO
2016 Nathan Miller Award, Sculpture on Campus, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL
Chris Galusha Award, Annual Juried Exhibition, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville IL
2015 Third Place, Sculpture on Campus, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL
Sculptors at Wagner Award, Annual Juried Exhibition, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville IL
Publications and Interviews
2024 HUG 100 Artists to Watch, Snap Collective, 16 April 2024.
A Year in Review: 2023 Artist Award Winner Shelby Fleming and Her Unexpected Challengers, Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 18 February 2024.
Meet Shelby Fleming, Bold Journey, 6 February 2024.
2023 The Anatomy of Funding, NWA Democrat-Gazette, 4 May 2023.
Meet Shelby Fleming, Canvas Rebel, 27 April 2023.
2022 The Idle Class, Visual Art Issue Fall 2022, The Idle Class Magazine, Fall 2022.
Returning to the Runway, Citi Scape Magazine, March 2022.
NWA Fashion Week Events to promote LGBTQ visibility, The Arkansas Traveler, March 2022.
2021 Interview With Artist Shelby Fleming, The Arkansas Art Scene Blog, 27 September 2021.
2020 Fleming, S. (2020). Gut Feeling. Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from
https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/3772
Shelby Fleming, artFIXYMX Radio, London, England
2019 Form 2019: Exhibition Catalog, CICA Museum, Gimpo, South Korea, September 20- October 6, 2019.