Fleming puts witty, whimsical freshness in bronze artworks.

          Recent Works by Frank Fleming , Monty Stabler Galleries , Through Dec. 28.

    Welcome to the gentle fantasy world according to Frank Fleming. Working in bronze, Fleming creates a kind of Dr. Doolittle island of creatures that get along together in a peaceable kingdom of loving harmony.

    There are rabbits of various sizes, one as big as a wild boar, collared and passive, another huddled to the floor as if hoping for total anonymity. We see a graduated scale of three tortoises, each on the back of another, topped by a frog holding an umbrella in a ponderously amusing circus act. A beautifully realized "fishing dog" sits, holding a pole and line with a catfish. Another assemblage has a frog supporting an orb with a smaller frog sitting on top. And there is the stacking of four rabbits with a twig topped by a bird.

    Omen-laden whimsy is reflected in such pieces as a penguin holding a stick with a goat head and a lizard holding a stick with a bird perched on top. Fig leaf wreaths and a bird house in a fig tree are a reference to bounty. A squirrel perched on a twig and an owl on a twig topped with antlers project a sense of watchful security. Frogs and lizards cling to the walls in lazy satisfaction. A collection of small objects, from winged frogs to fruits, vegetables and flowers, populates the gallery with humor and delicate charm.

   Two works are classic examples of the fairy-tale world of Fleming. With bodies that suggest human form, one has the head of a dog and the other the head of a catfish. They stand upright, guardians of make-believe, casting an aura of protective power over the entire room of capricious critters.

  Through an exacting imitation of reality, Fleming brings a witty freshness to nature that delights the spectator. His work does not end but begins with cognitive image. His child-like juxtapositions and quirky associations of the familiar become essays on archetypal relationships founded on innocence and a love of all things in nature.

                                                                                James Nelson , Birmingham News , 12/22/2002