PATSY
FLEMING
LEFT
the
world
of
art
to
work
for
the
federal
government
for
more
than
two
decades.
Now,
the
former
AIDS
czar
for
the
Clinton
administration
is
back
doing
what
she
really
loves:
drawing
and
painting.
Fleming,
who
was
director
of
National
AIDS
Policy
for
the
Clinton
administration
from
1993
to
1997,
prefers
creating
abstracts
and
figurative
works
of
people.
But
most
of
the
time,
she
leaves
race,
gender
and
sexual
orientation
out
of
her
pictures.
“My
ideas
include
a
desire
to
tell
the
observer
something
about
the
figure
—
but
not
specifically,”
she
says.
Fleming’s
work
is
currently
on
display
at
her
first
solo
exhibit,
which
is
at
the
Foundry
Gallery,
in
northwest
Washington.
In
addition
to
Washington,
her
paintings
also
have
been
displayed
and
are
in
private
collections
in
New
York,
Philadelphia,
Los
Angeles,
Scotland
and
Russia.
BORN
IN
PHILADELPHIA,
Fleming,
who
has
a
gay
son,
has
been
exhibiting
her
artwork
since
1959.
She
currently
has
a
studio
in
Bethesda,
Md.
A
graduate
of
Vassar
College,
Fleming
honed
her
skills
at
Cranbrook
Academy
of
Art
in
Bloomfield
Hills,
Mich.,
the
Pennsylvania
Academy
of
the
Fine
Arts
and
New
York
University.
For
the
past
three
years,
she
also
has
displayed
her
work
in
an
annual
exhibit
titled
“Common
Bond,”
which
showcases
the
work
of
African
American
artists
at
the
Strathmore
Hall
Arts
Center
in
Bethesda.
“Patsy’s
work
is
very
much
her,”
says
Millie
Shott,
the
visual
arts
director
for
“Common
Bond.”
“She
has
a
very
outgoing
personality,
and
you
can
see
that
in
her
artwork.”
Shott
says
she
was
particularly
impressed
by
Fleming’s
use
of
vibrant
colors,
and
her
ability
to
present
work
free
of
political
expression.
“I
find
her
work
has
a
great
amount
of
appeal
to
a
lot
of
different
people,”
she
says,
“When
people
walk
in
the
gallery
and
see
her
work,
they
are
searching
for
a
hidden
message.
And
that’s
what
art
should
be.”
FLEMING
DISCOVERED
HER
interest
in
politics
as
a
result
of
an
assignment
on
Capitol
Hill
through
a
fellowship
with
the
Washington
Education
Fellowship
Program.
Her
job
was
to
handle
legislation
on
issues
related
to
education,
civil
rights,
welfare
matters,
health
care
and
more.
She
then
worked
for
the
late
U.S.
Rep.
Ted
Weiss,
a
Democrat
from
New
York
who
served
in
Congress
from
1977
to
1992.
She
investigated
the
Reagan
and
Bush
administrations’
response
to
the
HIV/AIDS
epidemic.
Before
landing
a
job
as
the
director
of
National
AIDS
Policy
under
the
Clinton
administration,
Fleming
worked
for
the
U.S.
Department
of
Human
Health
and
Services,
as
assistant
to
Secretary
Donna
Shalala.
Her
work
there
involved
addressing
HIV/AIDS
and
gay
and
lesbian
issues.
But
for
all
her
accomplishments
in
politics,
Fleming
is
having
an
influence
on
the
world
in
a
radically
new
way
today.
“I
believe
that
art
helps
us
to
ask
questions
about
who
we
are
and
what
we
live
for,”
she
says.
