Exhibitions
January 30, 2009 to April 26, 2009
Hamburger Kunsthalle in Hamburg, Germany.
Included Coleman’s “Portrait of Charles Manson”, “As You Look Into the Eye of the Cyclops..” and “American Venus”.
May 2, 2008 to June 15, 2008
Mixing the work of Joe Coleman with that of Northern Primitives, artists from the Renaissance period.
February 1, 2007 to March 11, 2007
Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France.
An obsessive pictorial universe embracing madness, holiness and serial killers
An artist, performer, musician and actor, Joe Coleman is a legendary New York figure. Playing with pathological obsession and a fascination for psychopathic tendencies, his dense and detailed paintings plunge viewers into an illuminated Gothic universe featuring cultural icons of violence, anti-heroes and historical figures. His works are more than simple portraits: they recount the lives and legends of their subjects (serial killers, the deranged, etc.) by adding texts, stories and a labyrinth of mini-scenes, rendering the reading of the images and text chaotic, all the while maintaining a highly structured and delicate compositional sense. His painting presents itself as an autopsy of the human condition – concentrating on its violent or demented side – which he dissects with a scalpel on the surface of a canvas.
Influenced in equal measure by Renaissance painting, medieval illuminations and crime comics of the 1950s, the artist replaces images of saints with contemporary figures of holy madness. His work exists in the tradition of painters like Bosch, Bruegel, Grünewald or Goya who were also inspired by madness, trauma or suffering. To this awareness of loss and human fear, Coleman adds a dimension of humour and a pictorial intensity that is almost hallucinatory.
Indian Larry, Glory of New York, War Triptych, Joe’s Fear of Disease, Big Bang: these are among the titles of the pictures Joe Coleman presents at his first exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo. A collection of twenty paintings by this self-taught artist provides an introduction to this world fed by obsessions and eccentricities. Mixing popular cultures and religions, the images of festival, war, paradise and hell seem like the extreme coordinates of a joyful world that is nonetheless haunted by perversity
This exhibition is presented in partnership with The Cartin Collection, Hartford, Connecticut and is curated by Steven Holmes. Since the 1980s, Joe Coleman had exhibited at various galleries in East Village in New York such as Limbo, Civilian Warfare and Chronoside. His work has also been shown at the American Visionary Art Museum, the Hieronymus Bosch Museum, the Wadsworth Athenaeum at Hartford, Connecticut, as well as the Seattle Contemporary Art Center. Coleman also maintains the Odditorium, his ongoing museum-like installation full of strange and disturbing objects including “vintage” weapons or taxidermy specimens.
May 27, 2007 to October 21, 2007
KW Institute, Berlin Germany. A book/catalog, "Internal Digging" was published. Rebecca Leib posted a Photo Album of his opening and exhibition.
May 14, 2006 to August 15, 2006
Lyman Allyn Museum, New London, CT
“This exciting new exhibition, curated by Steven Holmes and culled from the renowned Cartin collection in Hartford, Connecticut, introduces contemporary approaches to portraiture ranging from traditional oil on canvas portraits to enhanced and re-worked photographs to three-dimensional assemblages referencing childhood memories. Subject explores–visually, socially, politically, and psychologically- the nature of portraiture.”
http://www.lymanallyn.org/subject/
February 11, 2006 to February 25, 2006
The Cartin Collection, Hartford, CT http://thecartincollection.com Review: New York Times
September 9, 2006 to October 9, 2006
(dates are approximate)
Jack Tilton Gallery, New York, NY.
NY Times review by John Strausbaugh.
Review in Art Critical
October 19, 2001 to January 6, 2002
The Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford. Other artists included Reginald Marsh, Diane Arbus, and John Stewart Curry. Traveled to the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, FL.
October 10, 2002 to October 10, 2002
(dates a guess, please let us know if you have better info) Franz Hals Museum, Haarlem, The Netherlands. Eight paintings.
February 23, 2002 to June 30, 2002
Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT. Exhibition included works by Walton Ford, Chuck Close, and Tony Fitzpatrick. One painting.