Sherman Fleming: Unsettled
INCUBATOR GALLERY
Known for his provocative performances, Sherman Fleming (b. 1953), is an influential multimedia artist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This focused survey gathers works spanning forty years of Fleming’s career, presenting paintings, drawings, ephemera, and documentation of his performances made between 1978–2019.
Fleming’s works are demonstrations of perseverance, self-control, and conviction. The artist’s main medium is his body, which he uses in myriad ways. His endurance performances span hours and even months and include walking through Philadelphia for a day while carrying an eight-foot-tall wooden phallus along with spending a year wearing a noose—objects purposely chosen as material reminders of racial and sexual stereotypes of Black masculinity as well as the ongoing trauma of racialized terrorism in the United States.
The unsettling nature of his work pushes the boundaries of discomfort as the imagery features both difficult subjects and unresolved compositions. Overall, Fleming’s complex practice is connected through his relentless processes that consistently expand the horizons of what art can be and how it may be experienced on paper, canvas, in a gallery, in a theatre, or even live on the street. Through his innovative explorations of identity, the artist’s messaging continues to resonate in profound ways, many years after its making.
Sherman Fleming: Unsettled is organized by Julianne Miao, Curatorial Associate, and Xuxa Rodríguez, PhD, Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Curator of Contemporary Art, with research support from intern Anna Grace Grossnickle T’25. Special thanks to artist Sherman Fleming and Kristine Stiles, PhD, France Family Distinguished Professor of Art, Art History, and Visual Studies at Duke University for their partnership on this project.
This exhibition is made possible by the Marilyn M. Arthur Fund.
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Sherman Fleming, Untitled, 1989. Watercolor on watercolor paper, Sheet: 6 × 4 inches (15.24 × 10.16 cm). Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC. Gift of Kristine Stiles, 2020.13.6. © Sherman Fleming.
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Sherman Fleming, Handmade postcard, n.d. Watercolor, typed text, xeroxed and collaged images on paper; 5 1/2 × 3 1/2 inches (13.97 × 8.89 cm). Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC. Gift of Kristine Stiles, 2020.13.20. © Sherman Fleming.
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Sherman Fleming, Handmade postcard, n.d. Watercolor, typed text, xeroxed and collaged images on paper; 3 1/2 × 5 1/2 inches (8.89 × 13.97 cm). Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC. Gift of Kristine Stiles, 2020.13.15. © Sherman Fleming.
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Sherman Fleming, Handmade postcard, 1992. Cut paper and text on cardboard, 5 × 6 inches (12.7 × 15.24 cm). Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC. Gift of Kristine Stiles, 2020.13.12. © Sherman Fleming.
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Sherman Fleming, Handmade postcard, n.d. Watercolor, typed text, xeroxed and collaged images on paper; 5 1/2 × 3 1/2 inches (13.97 × 8.89 cm). Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC. Gift of Kristine Stiles, 2020.13.27. © Sherman Fleming.
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Sherman Fleming, Handmade postcard, n.d. Watercolor, typed text, xeroxed and collaged images on paper; 3 1/2 × 5 1/2 inches (8.89 × 13.97 cm). Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC. Gift of Kristine Stiles, 2020.13.14. © Sherman Fleming.
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Sherman Fleming, You Mean Le Roi Dig?, 1988. Acrylic on watercolor paper, 24 × 32 inches (60.96 × 81.28 cm). Collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC. Gift of Kristine Stiles, 2020.13.1. © Sherman Fleming.
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Sherman Fleming, Pretending to be Rock, 1997. In collaboration with Josephine Nicholson and Haig Paul. Video documentation of performance, 5:57 minutes. Documented by Linda Lewett. Courtesy of the artist. © Sherman Fleming.
