Alex Flemming, Flying Carpets
Chicago Cultural Center, February 26 - May 1, 2005



Alex Flemming's first solo show in the United States in many years and a North American premiere, Alex Flemming: Flying Carpets, took place at the Chicago Cultural Center’s Michigan Avenue Galleries, from February 26 through May 1, 2005.

The exhibit featured a series of airplane-silhouetted objects covered by cut-up carpets, in a patchwork that recalled “1001 Arabian Nights.”  In a peaceful co-existence of western technology and rich oriental tradition, his wall works serve as a reminder of how the West was, and still is, influenced by the East, and vice-versa. 

Flying Carpets is a provocative exhibition with the intention of bridging, rather than separating, world views that seem far apart,” said Gregory Knight, Director of Visual Arts for the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs.  “Flemming hopes to open a dialogue on East-West relations by bringing the airplane and the Oriental carpet together in one place.”

Alex Flemming: Flying Carpets, curated by Tereza de Arruda, was organized by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and presented with support from Bank One.


About the artist
The son of a Brazilian airline pilot and a flight attendant, Alex Flemming has led a nomadic life.  As a child, he lived with his parents in Brazil, the United States (Florida) and Portugal.  In the 1980s, he became well-known in the São Paulo art circuit, then moved to New York to attend art school on a Fulbright scholarship and settled in Berlin in the early 1990s.  His exposure to cosmopolitan living has inspired his politically-engaged art.


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