Rhona Fleming
Artists Statement 2024
I am an artist and an architect. These disciplines are interwoven in my life but artistic practice is now my main focus and I relish the freedom of control over what I make without the requirement to consult, negotiate or comply with any regulation or agency. Consequently, I set myself no boundaries and work across drawing, painting, assemblage and sculpture often blurring the edges and long since abandoning the desire to create a ‘coherent body of work’ and just going with what seems right at the time and place. From a background firmly embedded in the abstract I now find myself drawn back to the figure with a renewed interest in art history, specifically the Italian Renaissance. The prospect of reaching across the centuries to find clues and traces of those times is tantalising. Imagine touching the fingertips of those artists, understanding the social and economic conditions in which they lived and how this was expressed in their work. This reveals a rich and endless seam to be investigated.
Biography
Rhona Fleming was born and educated in Scotland. After gaining her architectural qualifications in Glasgow she spent 12 years in practice in London whilst pursuing her fine art interests in drawing and sculpture including a diploma in sculpture at Sir John Cass School of Art. Since moving to Norfolk in 1992, she has been an architect in private practice expanding her activities to include landscape design (Ecology and Landscape UEA), jewellery design and painting. She completed an MA in Fine Art at Norfolk University of the Arts in 2014 and a M.Sc. with distinction in Architectural Conservation at Strathclyde University in 2019. In 2018 she was an invited artist on a residency, with SSA and BAG Art Camp, Isle of Mull that resulted in the (w)ORD: EBBE + FLOW touring exhibition in Scotland and Norway 2021-24. She was invited to be a professional member of the Society of Scottish Artists in 2019 and was accredited full member status with the Institute of Historic Buildings in 2020. Past involvement in the field of education has included teaching at Cambridge School of Architecture and the Architects in Schools initiative in Norfolk. Having recently decided to park her architectural career she is devoting her time to exploring her art practice.
Selected Exhibitions
| 2024 | VAS Centenary Show, Royal Scottish Academy |
|---|---|
| Babylon Gallery Summer Open, Ely | |
| On a Small Scale, Open Eye Gallery Edinburgh (online) | |
| (w)ORD: EBBE+FLOW, group touring exhibition Shetland Museum | |
| Blackfield Creatives at Wisbech Gallery Open | |
| SSA Annual Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy | |
| 2023 | On a Small Scale, Open Eye Gallery Edinburgh (online) |
| SSA 125th Annual Exhibition, MacLaurin Art Gallery, Ayr | |
| SSA Group exhibition Caledonian Club London | |
| (w)ORD: EBBE+FLOW, Festival of the Future exhibition university of Dundee | |
| (w)ORD: EBBE+FLOW, group touring exhibition Grinneabhat Centre, Isle of Lewis | |
| (w)ORD: EBBE+FLOW, group touring exhibition MOCA Gallery, Dunoon | |
| Babylon Gallery Summer Open, Ely | |
| ‘Colour’ Cromer Arts Space | |
| Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition | |
| 30x30 Group show, Anteros Gallery Norwich | |
| 2022 | Commissioned work for ‘130 Years Exhibition’ SSA Royal Scottish Academy |
| ‘130 Years Exhibition’ SSA Royal Scottish Academy General Submission | |
| (w)ORD: EBBE+FLOW, group touring exhibition Royal Scottish Academy | |
| REVERB, Visual Arts Scotland, (online) | |
| On a Small Scale, Open Eye Gallery Edinburgh (online) | |
| Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition | |
| (w)ORD: EBBE+FLOW, group touring exhibition An Tobar, Isle of Mull | |
| (w)ORD: EBBE+FLOW, group touring exhibition Galleri Rustica, Frekhaug, Norway | |
| 2021 | On a Small Scale, Open Eye Gallery Edinburgh (online) |
| Babylon Gallery Summer Open | |
| (w)ORD: EBBE+FLOW, group touring exhibition USF Gallery Space, Bergen, Norway | |
| Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition (online) | |
| Flow, Visual Arts Scotland Members’ Winter Exhibition (online) | |
| 2020 | On a Small Scale, Open Eye Gallery Edinburgh (online) |
| 30x30, Westacre Art Gallery | |
| Coming Home, Aberdeen Artists Society (online) | |
| Royal Scottish Academy Open, Edinburgh (online) | |
| 2019 | Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition |
| The Summer Exhibition at the Black Barn, Black Barn, Norfolk | |
| On a Small Scale, Open Eye Gallery Edinburgh | |
| Alight, Visual Arts Scotland Open, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh | |
| Society of Scottish Artists Open, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh | |
| 2018 | Connections, Open exhibition, Wells Maltings, Wells-Next-the-Sea |
| Current, Tatha Gallery, Newport-on-Tay | |
| Reuse, Reinvent, Reimagine, Edinburgh Fringe, Gallery 33, Edinburgh | |
| Cley 18, North Norfolk Exhibition Project, Cley | |
| Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition | |
| Together, SSA & VAS, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh | |
| Babylon ARTS Selected Summer Open, Ely, Cambridgeshire | |
| On a Small Scale, Open Eye Gallery Edinburgh | |
| 2017 | Connections, &Gallery, Edinburgh |
| Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition | |
| Flatlands, Greyfriars Art Space, King’s Lynn, Norfolk | |
| Artists Working Sculpturally, Black Barn, Cockley Cley, Norfolk | |
| 2016 | Fly, Society of Scottish Artists Open, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh |
| Society of Scottish Artists Open, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh | |
| Dialogues, Patriothall Gallery, Edinburgh | |
| Contested Horizons, Salthouse, Nortfolk | |
| Norfolk Contemporary Art, Hudson Gallery, Norwich | |
| Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition | |
| Cley 16, In Norfolk Now, Cley Church, Cley-next-the-Sea, Norfolk | |
| Mixed Show, The Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh | |
| Converge 2016, Visual Arts Scotland Annual Open Exhibition | |
| 2015 | Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition |
| Festival of Architecture in Norwich & Norfolk Art Trail, Maddermarket Kitchen | |
| 2014 | A Time for Every Purpose, The Hostry, Norwich, second prize winner |
| Festival of Architecture in Norwich & Norfolk Art Trail, Playhouse Theatre, Norwich | |
| Festival of Architecture in Norwich & Norfolk Art Trail, Appleyard Restaurant, Norwich | |
| 2013 | Khora-Khorian, Stew Gallery, Norwich |
| Cambridge Open, ArtSpace, Cambridge | |
| Eastern Open , Kings Lynn Arts Centre, Norfolk | |
| Driven to Abstraction, Wymondham Arts Centre, Norfolk | |
| 2012 | On the Artistic Spectrum, The Scottish Arts Club, Edinburgh |
| SPAN, Great Yarmouth Arts Festival Open, Minster Church of St Nicholas | |
| Festival showcase, King's Lynn Arts Centre, 2012 | |
| Eastern Open, Kings Lynn Arts Centre, Norfolk | |
| 2011 | Royal Glasgow Institute Open, Mitchell Galleries, Glasgow |
| Festival Crafts Exhibition, King's Lynn Arts Centre | |
| Eastern Open, Kings Lynn Arts Centre, Norfolk | |
| 2010 | Norfolk Contemporary Art Open, The Forum, Norwich |
| Crossings, Edinburgh Fringe Exhibition, No 1 Clarence Street, Edinburgh | |
| Eastern Open, Kings Lynn Arts Centre, Norfolk | |
| 2009 | Ground, Greyfriars Art Space, King's Lynn |
| Eastern Open, Kings Lynn Arts Centre, Norfolk | |
| 2008 | Foyer Exhibition, Westacre Theatre, Norfolk. |
| 2007 | Visual Arts Scotland Open, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh |
| Eastern Open, Kings Lynn Arts Centre, Norfolk | |
| View of the Garden, RIAS, Edinburgh - Winner of Garden Design Competition | |
| 1994 | Open Art exhibition, Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery, prizewinner |
| Another Norwich, Contact Gallery, Norwich | |
| Five Invited Artists, Advice Arcade Gallery, Norwich | |
| 1993 | A Concern for the Earth, Riviera Gallery, Hastings, finalist |
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Recycled Furniture, Contact Gallery, Norwich Public Collections NHS Lothian Arts Collection - 2 purchases, 2019, 2024 |