5:30am | Monica Fleming is a successful artist living in Long Beach. Her work is shown, and sold, in galleries in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, but she rarely shows work in Long Beach. Because of her participation in the Midcity Art Tour, she was approached by Liza Simone, who runs the Phantom Galleries program in Long Beach, to curate a space. The space, called Artden, is located at 122 East 3rd Street, just East of Pine Avenue. The first show is opening this Saturday, January 22nd, from 6 – 9 PM. I asked her to share the concept for the space.
Monica: It’s called the artden because I wanted to create an intimate alternative gallery space, basically a playground for me to express alternative sides of my work, as well as show other artists who share the same sensibilities. We’re going way outside the box, especially since i don’t have to rely on a constituant’s approval. It’s finally my turn. Plus, I have always wanted to be a part of Phantom Galleries. The concept is amazing, and has had my attention for a long time.
Sander: What are the alternate sides of your work?
Monica: I typically do large scale abstract color fields, but I also sculpt, and I’m learning screen printing. In this show, titled “Free From Now On,” I’m using gestural lines to tell a story. The line have no ending or beginning. I originally wanted to paint lines throughout the space, on the walls, everywhere, but the idea had to be reworked at the last minute. It would have been to difficult, given time constraints, to effectively remove black lines from white walls, so I’m actually now working up to the last minute. One canvas will be 12 ft., and another 8 ft. I figured since I couldn’t paint on the walls, I would paint as large as I could to simulate a similar impact.
Sander: Do you plan to involve other artists in the space? Are there any already lined up?
Monica: Yes, definitly! The Feburary show will feature artist Steve Janssen of Janssen Artspace. I also have an artist, Shane Pennington, from Dallas coming in, and we are solidifying the rest at the moment. We are also accepting submissions.
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Artists interested in submitting ideas for the space can contact Monica, via email, at [email protected]. Monica is co-curating the space with Steve Janssen, who can be reached at [email protected].