MEET THE ARTISTS
Gregg Fleishman
Gregg (visit his website) is an architect, designer, artist and inventor whose work is largely informed by geometry and functionality. A Los Angeles native born in 1947, Fleishman has been a resident of Culver City for forty seven years and is a pioneer and key creative figure of the city. Before occupying this location for the past thirteen years, his studio was located on nearby La Cienega Boulevard, in the recently developed gallery corridor populated by several young and established LA galleries.
In 1970 Fleishman earned an architectural degree at the University of Southern California that boasted a ground breaking and innovative program at the time, where he studied with Konrad Wachsmann, famous for his structures illustrated in his book The Turning Point of Building including the prefabricated house developed with Walter Gropius.
Fleishman’s acclaimed innovative architectural structures express both modern and futuristic aesthetics and have been featured in articles by the Los Angeles Times (2006, 2004, 2003, 1999, 1997, 1992, 1989, 1985), the San Francisco Chronicle (2006, 2005), the New York Times (2000) and the Wall Street Journal (2006). His SCULPT C H A I R S are included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art (NY), Yale University Art Gallery, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
Fleishman coined the term Rhombicube referring to a diamond panel form which is distilled out of a 3-D checkerboard of cubes. The various truncations of the Rhombicube form the orthogonal variations of Archimedean solids. The assembly of these solids in various configurations form the geometrical basis for his Shelter Systems. The iconic SCULPT C H A I R S and the Shelter Systems are all cut out from flat sheet material, a European birch. Fleishman’s Shelter Systems obviate the need for screws or fasteners by using integral slots and notches, even employing wood springs and wood hinges. He holds several patents for his designs.
Recent custom projects include designing a stage for the East Bay Arts Alliance in Oakland and hardscape design at Pacifica Community Charter School in Los Angeles. 2006 exhibitions include “SCULPT C H A I R S ” at the Museo del Patrimonio Industriale sponsored by the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Bologna, Italy; The “Structural Language of Gregg Fleishman” curated by Nathan Shapira at the Pacific Design Center, West Hollywood; and the Southern California Home Show at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Largely influenced by his early work experience in the construction industry, Fleishman’s mission is to continue developing ways to make building easier.
Melissa Barron – Conceptor
Melissa has survived being a woman born in the 1950s so she is now one freckle past a hair of primordial understandings descendant from her female lineage. She has a multifaceted background with a BS from UC Davis in Environmental Planning and Management/Landscape Architecture (green before there was “Green”); she has traveled the world as a Pan Am flight attendant, was a designer clothing buyer at Nordstrom, and worked in marketing and advertising in both print and online media including W Magazine, Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), Gentlemen’s Quarterly (GQ), The New Yorker and Salon.com. She is fluent in the language of Corporate America but is also indigenous to creativity, freedom of expression and art in its many forms. She arrived late to the art party unveiling her first interactive performance art piece, Crowning Glory, at Burning Man in 2007.
She was the “Conceptor/Creatress/Muse” of the Otic Oasis at Burning Man in 2011 collaborating with the amazing artist, architect, designer, and inventor, Gregg Fleishman.
She is inspired to motivate and create in order to assist social justice and environmental movements. Stay tuned.