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In 1921 Fleischmann started to work as a dermatologist in a Vienna hospital.
Concurrently he studied sculpture at the Vienna Academy as the pupil of
Professor Josef Müllner. Müllner was a leading exponent of the idealising sculpture
of his time, leaning towards eclecticism and classicism.
In 1924-28 he studied in Müllner´s Sculpture Masterclass.
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Hickelgasse
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In that time he excelled in creating glazed ceramic sculptures.
In 1924 Fleischmann left the medical profession. In the early 1930s he executed his first major sculptural commissions. Between 1930 and 1935 he worked on three major projects, connected with the new social programme of public housing in Vienna.
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From 1934 to 1937 he taught ceramics at the Womens' Academy of Art in Vienna. He
also undertook practical work at the Grumndner Keramik factory at Grumndner,
Austria and for four years was artistic and technical director of the Nike
Ceramic Factory in Vienna.
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Vienna Studio with friends
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Throughout this time he maintained contacts with Bratislava, where he exhibited
his works several times. The first time was probably in 1928 at an exhibition of
modern Austrian art in Umelecka beseda slovenska. He was a Founder Member of the
Academy of Science and Art in Bratislava in 1935.
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Hagen
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The last time he visited the town of his birth was in 1936 or 1937.
In the 1930s Fleischmann's reputation started to spread and he received commissions
from churches in Germany, Holland and Austria. In 1930 he created 12 ceramic
sculptures of the Apostles for the main altar in the church of St.Elisabeth,
Hagen, Westphalia, designed by the well-known expressionist architect Dominicus
Böhm.
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Certain sketches and studies for the figures in the Hagen altar-piece now belong
to the Mestske Muzeum (City Museum), Bratislava and the records allow us to deduce
that Fleischmann was still based in Bratislava at the time he worked on the
commission.
He gained commissions for many other churches in Germany (Hindenburg, Köln),
as well as for the St.Bonifatius church of the Lyceum in Amsterdam or the church
in the Austrian village Maria-Ellend.
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St Boniface
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Padua
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In 1932 he exhibited at the International exhibition of Christian Art in Padua
and won a silver medal.
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Two years later he travelled to Paris and Rome and in 1936 he exhibited in ten
towns in the U.S.A.
In June 1937 the Vienna ice-hockey team prepared for a tour of South Africa and
Fleischmann accepted the position as team doctor. He used the trip to further
his artistic career and, after the sporting event he remained in South Africa
where he exhibited in both Johannesburg and Pretoria.
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The next stage of his life was an adventure by ship east across the Indian Ocean.
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