Craig Coleman (artist)

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Craig Coleman
BornJune 28, 1961
San Jose, California[1]
DiedDecember 3, 1994
Miami, Florida
NationalityAmerican
OccupationArtist

Craig Coleman (June 28, 1961 – December 3, 1994[2]) was an American artist.

Biography[edit]

Early life[edit]

Coleman was born in San Jose, California. He graduated from Willow Glen High School in 1979 before moving to San Francisco in 1980 and New York City in 1981.

Career[edit]

Coleman was a contemporary of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paul Benney, Keith Haring, Rick Prol, Kjell Erik Killi Olsen, Kenny Scharf and Robert Mapplethorpe.[3] He was a prominent figure in the Downtown Art Scene[4] in the 80s, producing a prodigious body of work both in sculpture and painting, often using found materials. His first show was with 'The New Math Gallery', one of the pioneering galleries in the East Village. He shared studio space on 12th Street with the British artist Paul Benney.[5]

Steven Rudy, a professor at New York University[6] described Coleman's work as 'intensely spiritual'. Paul Bridgewater of The Bridgewater Gallery,[7] one of Coleman's early champions called him 'Urban Primitive'. His first serious venture into performance was the show 'The year 8000', a multimedia event, at the 'La Mama Theater', NYC.[8] With Steve Stevens, in 1988, he produced hundreds of paintings to illustrate slides for the show.

His artistic style changed with his move to Miami[9][10] in 1989, reflecting the sunny, hedonistic, party atmosphere in South Beach. Coleman became involved with Drag Performance in Miami, with his alter ego 'Varla',[11][12] while still producing serious art. 'Varla' inspired 'Varla TV', a cable TV show. His shows gained a cult following in South Beach, with Varla holding court at his Espanola Way studio.[13][14] At this time, Coleman began contributing to a South Beach gossip column for 'Wire Magazine'. He used his talents to raise money for AIDS charities[15][16]

One of Coleman's works is in the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami.[17] A large body of his work was lost after his death, but much work survived due to his prolific output.

Death[edit]

Coleman died December 3, 1994[18][19] in Miami.[20]

Solo exhibitions[edit]

Year Gallery Location
1983 New Math Gallery New York
1984 Gracie Mansion Gallery, Sculpture Garden, NYC, New Math Gallery[21] New York
1985 'Beyond Primitivism' Mark Twain Bank. St Louis
1986 New Math Gallery[22] New York
1986 "Polynero 11' Turnhout. Belgium
1986 Wessel O'Connor Gallery Rome
1987 'Craig Coleman, paintings & Sculpture' Bridgewater Gallery, NYC
1987 Mokotoff Gallery, New York. NYC
1988 'The Year 8000' La Mama, with Steve Stevens NYC
1989 'Studio A Go-Go' Washington St, South Beach Miami, FL
1990 'Craig Coleman, AKA Varla' Century Hotel, South Beach, Miami, FL
2015 'Craig Coleman, Summer was a Drag', Guccivuitton, Little Haiti [23][24][25] Miami, FL

Group exhibitions[edit]

Year Gallery Location
2005 Vintage East Village, Hal Bromm Gallery[26] New York, NY
2012 'Crossing Houston', Smart Clothes Gallery[27] New York, NY

Further reading[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Craig Coleman - Biography".
  2. ^ ""Summer Was a Drag" at Guccivuitton Looks Back at South Beach".
  3. ^ "Vintage East Village Hal Bromm New York". 1995-2015.undo.net (in Italian). Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  4. ^ "artnet.com Magazine Books - Book Report". www.artnet.com. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  5. ^ Paul, Benny (2018). "VARLA: Craig Coleman Studies. Archived Work - Paul Benney Artist". www.paulbenney.com. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  6. ^ "Stephen Rudy, N.Y.U. professor of Russian and Slavic languages". thevillager.com. Archived from the original on 2006-06-24. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  7. ^ "Biography of Paul Bridgewater". www.bwfinearts.com. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  8. ^ "La MaMa | Theatre in the East Village, NYC". La MaMa. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  9. ^ "Happy 100th Birthday, Miami Beach". Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  10. ^ "Miami: Turistas/U Artists by Roberto Juarez, Cyn Zarco - BOMB Magazine". bombmagazine.org. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  11. ^ "Oh, To Be In Sobe Here's To The South Beach Scene, And The People Who Steal It". tribunedigital-sunsentinel. Archived from the original on 2018-04-23. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  12. ^ "Craig Coleman by Roberto Juarez, Cyn Zarco - BOMB Magazine". bombmagazine.org. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  13. ^ "Summer was a Drag - artisabout.com". artisabout.com. 2015-10-03. Archived from the original on 2018-04-22. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  14. ^ Coleman. "Late to the Party | ARTLURKER". www.artlurker.com. Archived from the original on 2018-04-22. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  15. ^ Cantor, Judy (1998-03-05). "Gone But Maybe Not Forgotten". Miami New Times. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  16. ^ AIDS, Visual. "Craig Coleman". Visual AIDS. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  17. ^ "Craig ColemanUntitled, n.d. Mixed media on masonite 18 x 30 inches Gift of the Cole Family – Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami". mocanomi.org. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  18. ^ "Visual AIDS | Craig Coleman".
  19. ^ Vazquez, Neil (2015-09-24). ""Summer Was a Drag" at Guccivuitton Looks Back at South Beach". Miami New Times. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
  20. ^ Force, Thessaly La (2018-04-17). "Those We Lost to the AIDS Epidemic". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  21. ^ "NEW GALLERIES OF THE LOWER EAST SIDE". leftmatrix.com. Archived from the original on 2018-12-12. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  22. ^ "New Galleries of the lower east side" (PDF). www.darkmatterarchives.net/. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 December 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  23. ^ "Craig Coleman, Summer was a Drag - Press Release" (PDF). Noguchi Breton. September 2015. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
  24. ^ Vazquez, Neil (2015-09-24). ""Summer Was a Drag" at Guccivuitton Looks Back at South Beach". Miami New Times. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  25. ^ "A party, fundraiser and gallery show highlight the visual arts scene". miamiherald. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  26. ^ "Vintage East Village - Hal Bromm Gallery - ArtCat". calendar.artcat.com. Archived from the original on 2018-04-26. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  27. ^ "Crossing Houston at Smart Clothes Gallery | ArtSlant". ArtSlant. Archived from the original on 2018-04-26. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
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