ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

There is an inherent fuzzy quality that refracts the viewing of history—even personal history—underscoring how difficult it is to hold on to a crisp memory. Solid Rememberingis a select body of sculptures and tactile imagery spanning the last eight years. Included in Solid Remembering is Risen: I Put The Yeast In, an ongoing series begun in 2012. These “bread prints” were initially made with my pre-school aged son as an activity to bookend the day. We would mix dough together in the morning, wait for it to rise, then knead, shape and bake it on parchment paper in the late afternoon. Eventually I noticed that the parchment paper burnt in a really beautiful way, creating a tangible imprint of our activity—of time spent together.

Another ongoing series of textile patterns traced on mylar explore personal objects through translucent media. Among the objects are gloves that my great-grandmother crocheted, anonymous cross-stitched works picked up by my mother at a flea market, and my grandmother’s last tissue box. All these pieces represent levels of absorption of the personal into an otherwise inert object, and all are bound by their relationship to the personal domestic landscape. Each work acts as a mini memorial to fleeting moments that resonate in my memory. I think of them as a way of coping with mortality and the passage of time, while simultaneously inviting the magical into one’s daily routine.

- Emily Fleisher, 2020

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Emily Fleisher is an artist and educator originally from New York. Fleisher graduated with an MFA in Sculpture from Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA in Sculpture from Syracuse University. She has exhibited at numerous venues including Women and Their Work (Austin, TX); Stay Gold Gallery (Brooklyn, NY); Lawndale Art Center (Houston, TX); Artpace San Antonio; and the Everson Museum of Art (Syracuse, NY). In addition, Emily is the recipient of a Mary Lily Travel Research Grant through Duke University in 2019, a 300 TriArt Grant from the City of San Antonio in 2018, and an alumna of the Vermont Studio Center Residency. She currently lives and works in San Antonio.

ABOUT THE CURATOR

Roberta “Nina” Hassele is a Brooklyn-raised, Texas-based curator, arts supporter and organizer. As a child, New York’s museums and galleries were her playgrounds and safe spaces. After moving to Texas, Nina found joy and refuge in art again, falling in love with San Antonio’s vibrant and inclusive downtown art scene. She has spent twenty years immersed in the arts community—first as a friend, volunteer, collector and fundraiser—and now as a curator of local and traveling exhibitions, as well as an advisor to arts institutions. Her mission is to increase recognition and support for all of San Antonio’s artists. She has been the Executive Director of Contemporary Art Month San Antonio since 2012.

PRESS

San Antonio Current https://www.sacurrent.com/ArtSlut/archives/2020/03/12/studio-visits-san-antonio-artist-emily-fleisher-on-memory-motherhood-peach-pits-and-video-games

Emily Fleisher: Solid Remembering