David Richard Gallery is pleased to present Dean Fleming: Gestures and Symbols, Studies from 1977 to 1980. This selection of 18 small studies maps a pivotal period and transition in the aesthetics of Fleming’s artwork moving from the 1970s and into the 1980s. The artworks in this presentation fall roughly into four distinct aesthetic groupings from the noted period and correspond directly to four bodies of paintings from 1977 through 1981, a prolific and creative period in Fleming’s career.

Studies were an important part of Fleming’s studio practice as he created many of them prior to and while executing similar larger format compositions on canvas. His studies on paper, board or canvas were stand-alone works, mostly signed and dated, meaning they were not just studies or sketches purely for the execution of a canvas. Sometimes there is a study that pairs with a canvas, but not always. The studies were an independent body of work that supported the artist’s process and in particular for resolving his thoughts and approaches to a new series of paintings.