Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart presents works inspired by my ongoing efforts to understand and navigate my life as a biracial person. This exhibition marries two seemingly disparate series, separated by the perceived gap between personal experience and global history and brought back together by the threads of generational trauma. On display are works that point to the origins and ongoing impact of settler colonialism and white supremacy.
Pink and Purple
Pink and Purple consists of 14 small, mixed media paintings which continue my exploration of altered coloring books from the 1950s. These coloring books are used as educational tools to teach children about the colors of the world around them. While there are very few people of color in the book, the pages have yellowed over time and resemble my biracial skin tone. The key on the back of the book gives instruction as to how the pages should be colored, yet missing from this key is any reference to skin tone. I have completed the pages by following the instructions while harnessing various life experiences and stereotypes to make assumptions about the figures in the book. The figures perform daily tasks and take part in mundane activities which are set to a backdrop of rusting iron. Emerging from the rust are details of Bible illustrations, asking the viewer to consider the roll of the church in the perpetuation of and benefit from racist ideas. The imagery on each page, perceived at the most basic level, presents interactions between people, or representations of people, of different races. Upon deeper contemplation they slowly begin to reveal problematic truths and unravel as moments of extreme tension between race, gender and age, calling on the viewer to reflect on current and historic sociopolitical events. Before alteration, the pages are so fragile that they crumble in my hands. Now, more paint than paper, the pages are literally held together by my visual interpretations of history, tradition, trauma and tragedy.
Monumental Shadows
Monumental Shadows consists of nine large-scale, mixed media paintings which present stacked silhouettes of confederate statues, materialized through bronze, iron, tar and screen-print on paper. Responding to the toppling of a large number of these statues in 2020, the oxidized and corroding metals elude to the man-made construction of both physical objects and problematic ideologies, their precarious foundations, decaying façades and inevitable demise. The floral patterns of Colonial Crewelwork embroidery and African Kente cloth motifs are stand-ins for oppressor and oppressed, villains and heroes. Mimicking stained glass windows, the works in Monumental Shadows are explorations of authoritarian systems of power. In this case, under the microscope is the legacy of the church and its roll in perpetuating white supremacy and the radicalization of indigenous spiritualities.
Pink Businessman Embraces Purple Girl, iron, acrylic and screen print on found coloring book page, 8” x 11”, 2021
Purple Man Carries Heavy Bags, iron, acrylic and screen print on found coloring book page, 8” x 11”, 2021
Purple Milkman Delivers White Milk, iron, acrylic and screen print on found coloring book page, 8” x 11”, 2021
Pink Girl Plays with Purple Dolly, iron, acrylic and screen print on found coloring book page, 8” x 11”, 2021
Pink Boy Plays with Purple Clown, iron, acrylic and screen print on found coloring book page, 8” x 11”, 2021
Pink Girl Feeds Purple Fishy, iron, acrylic and screen print on found coloring book page, 8” x 11”, 2021
Purple Girl Puts Pink Dolly to Bed, iron, acrylic and screen print on found coloring book page, 8” x 11”, 2021
Purple Lady Ice-skates with Pink Man, iron, acrylic and screen print on found coloring book page, 8” x 11”, 2021
Purple Girl Colors White Coloring Book, iron, acrylic and screen print on found coloring book page, 8” x 11”, 2021
Pink Man Looks at Purple Women, iron, acrylic and screen print on found coloring book page, 8” x 11”, 2021
Pink Lady Puts Yellow Flower on Purple Man’s Suit, iron, acrylic and screen print on found coloring book page, 8” x 11”, 2021
Untitled - Monumental Shadows 1, iron, bronze, tar and screen print on paper, 26” x 34”, 2021
Untitled - Monumental Shadows 2, iron, bronze, tar and screen print on paper, 26” x 34”, 2021
Untitled - Monumental Shadows 3, iron, bronze, tar and screen print on paper, 26” x 34”, 2021
Untitled - Monumental Shadows 4, iron, bronze, tar and screen print on paper, 26” x 34”, 2021
Untitled - Monumental Shadows 5, iron, bronze, tar and screen print on paper, 26” x 34”, 2021
Untitled - Monumental Shadows 6, iron, bronze, tar and screen print on paper, 26” x 34”, 2021
Untitled - Monumental Shadows 7, iron, bronze, tar and screen print on paper, 26” x 34”, 2021
Untitled - Monumental Shadows 8, iron, bronze, tar and screen print on paper, 26” x 34”, 2021
Untitled - Monumental Shadows 9, iron, bronze, tar and screen print on paper, 26” x 34”, 2021
Aaron S. Coleman CV
EDUCATION
2013 Master of Fine Arts – Northern Illinois University
2009 Bachelor of Fine Arts – Herron School of Art
Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis
Major – Printmaking, Minor–Art history
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021 Monumental Shadows, O.S.B. Art Gallery, Benedictine University, Lisle, IL
Things Fall Apart, CSU Stanislaus, Turlock, CA
Aaron S. Coleman – Prints 2015-2021, Flat Tail Press Gallery, Minot State University, Minot ND
2020 Aaron S. Coleman: Prints and Collages, Tippetts and Eccles Galleries, Utah State University, Logan, UT
2019 Nothing to See Here, Smith Family Gallery, Tulsa, OK
True and Livin’, Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Mesa, AZ
2018 Royal Dirt, Truckee Meadows Community College, Reno, NV
Dogs of Doom, Modified Arts, Phoenix, AZ
2017 Nothing to See Here, Phoenix Institute of Contemporary Art, Phoenix, AZ Dogs of Doom, Artist Image Resource, Philadelphia, PA
Red Horizon, Bob Owens Gallery, University of North Georgia, Dahlonega, GA
2016 Dark Heart News, Corridor 2122, Fresno, CA
Smithereens, M-Street Studios, Fresno, CA
2015 New Works – Aaron S. Coleman, Station 16, Athens, OH
Understanding Oblivion, Hoofprint Workshop, Chicago, IL
Out of the Sky, Into the Dirt, AdventureLand Gallery, Chicago, IL
2013 Elgin Community College Library, Elgin, Illinois - Curator: Ed Krantz
Southern Graphics Council International Graduate Student Fellowship Exhibition, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Milwaukee, WI
Heroes & Hypocrites, Gallery 215, Dekalb, IL
SELECTED TWO AND THREE PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2017 Surroundings, Bernal Gallery, Pima Community College West, Tucson, AZ
2013 Aaron S. Coleman & Jessica Christy, Valley City State University, Valley City, ND Curator: Linda Whitney
Utopia/Dystopia – Aaron S. Coleman and Erik Waterkotte, College of the Sequoias, Visalia, CA Curator: Jessica Robles
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021 Multitudes, Project V Gallery, Columbia University, Chicago, IL - Curator: Jade Hoyer Arts in Action, Elwood House and Museum, Dekalb, IL
Common Ground, Utah Cultural Celebration Center - Curator: Abe Kimball
2020 How We See Art, Scottsdale Arts, Scottsdale AZ
2019 Sanctuary – travelling exhibition - Curator: Shelley Thortenson
2018 Activate, University of Texas San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
The BIG Print Show, Chicago Printmakers Collaborative, Chicago, IL - Curator: Deborah Maris Ladder Exposition des oeuvres de L’Atelier le Grand Village, les Salles Lavauguyon, Angoulem, France Curator: Francis van der Reit
2018 The Big Crash, Impact Printmaking Conference, Santander, Spain – Curator: Ruthann Godollei
The Hand, Fraction Studios, Kansas City, MO – Curators: Adam Finklestein and James Maera
Mezzot’India, Bihar Museum, Patna, India – Curator: Guy Langevin
SWEET, Golden and Delicious, Northern Illinois University Art Museum, Dekalb, IL Curator: Josephine Burke
Donde esta mi pistola arpón, Till Richter Museum, Buggenhagen, Germany – Curator: Miguel Aragon
Los Norteños, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI – Curator: John Hitchcock
Donde esta mi pistola arpón, University of Veracruz, Xalapa, Mexico - Curator: Byron T. Brauchli
International Mezzotint Exhibition, Davidson Galleries, Seattle, WA – Curator: Miranda Metcalf
Global Matrix IV, Galleries at Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH
2017 PSAD Printmaking Invitational, Bill Ford Gallery, Paducah College of Art and Design, Paducah, KY
Curators: Erich Neitzke and Michael Crouse
Global Matrix IV, Stein Galleries, Wright State University, Dayton, OH
International Mezzotint Exhibition, Instituto Cultural de Aguascalientes – Curator: Leo Rodriguez
Southern Graphics Council International Members Exhibition – Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI
Southern Graphics Council International Members Exhibition
Jack Olson Gallery, Northern Illinois University, Deklab, IL
No Borders Benefit Exhibition (ACLU), Ground Floor Gallery, Brooklyn, NY Curator: Kirsten Flaherty
2016 Standing Rock Benefit Exhibition, Rogue Space, Chelsea, NY – Curator: Kirsten Flaherty
Publish or Perish, Macia Wood Gallery, Atlanta, GA – Curators: Rich Gere and Ryan O’Malley
The Visceral Hand, Rivet Gallery, Columbus, OH
Southern Graphics Council International Members Exhibition
Contemporary Gallery: Center for Art and Theatre, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA
2016 Twisted Impressions, Davidson Galleries, Seattle WA – Curator: Miranda Metcalf
The Impression: A Print Survey, Blue Line Gallery, Sacramento, CA
American Lithographers, Museum of Lithographic Art, Tidahlom, Sweden – Curator: Andrew DeCaen
CONFERENCES / SCHOLARLY PRESENTATIONS / ARTIST LECTURES
2021 Panel Discussion, Association for the Study of African American Life Elgin Community College, Elgin, IL
Visiting Artist and Lecturer, Benedictine University, Lisle, IL
Visiting Artist and Lecturer, New Mexico State, Elgin, IL
Visiting Artist and Lecturer, Northwest Arts Center, Minot, ND
2020 Visiting Artist and Lecturer, California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA
Visiting Artist and Lecturer, Elgin Community College, Elgin, IL
Visiting Artist and Lecturer, Elgin Community College, Elgin, IL
2019 Frogman’s 38th Print and Paper Workshop Faculty, University of Nebraska, OMA
Visiting Artist and Lecturer, Utah State University, Logan, UT
Visiting Artist and Lecturer, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Visiting Artist and Lecturer, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA
Visiting Artist and Lecturer, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, TN
Visiting Artist and Lecturer, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK
2018 Panelist and presenter – Making Our Place: Disruptive Narratives in Contemporary Printmaking Society for Utopian Studies, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Artist Residency, Art Print Residence, Barcelona, Spain
Visiting Artist and Lecturer, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Visiting Artist and Lecturer, Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, IL
Visiting Artist and Lecturer, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
2017 Visiting Artist and Lecturer, University of North Georgia, Dahlonega, GA
Panelist and presenter – Crossroad: Intersections and Interventions, Southern Graphics Council International Conference, Atlanta, GA – Organizer: Susanna Crum
2017 Artist Residency, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
Artist Residency, Atelier Le Grande Village, Massignac, France
2016 Frogman’s 35th Print and Paper Workshop Faculty, University of Nebraska, OMA
Visiting Artist/Lecturer, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
2015 Visiting Artist/Lecturer, Ohio University, Athens, OH
Visiting Artist/Lecturer, Minot State University
Visiting Artist/Lecturer, Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Visiting Artist/Lecturer, Chicago Printers Guild
Visiting Lecturer, California State University Fresno
2013 Printmaking Residency, 2-week printmaking residency at the Frans Masereel Centrum in Belgium
2012
Visiting Artist Lecture, Herron School of Art and Deign
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
Janet Turner Print Museum
Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts – Russia
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts – Taiwan
Frogman’s Printmaking and Paper Workshop Permanent Collection
Biennial Collection of The Printmaking Museum of Douro – Portugal
Arizona State University
University of Colorado
Wichita State University
University of Ohio
University of Utah
Ino-cho Paper Museum – Japan
Herron School of Art and Design
Northern Illinois University
University of Tennessee Knoxville Ewing Gallery
Pears Studio at North Dakota State University
Artist Printmaker/Photographer Research Collection in the Art Division of the Museum of Texas Tech University
Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College
The Bibliothèque Nationale – France
Numerous private national and international collections
PUBLICATIONS AND PRESS
2021 PHX Artist Spotlight, Phoenix Museum of Art, online
Shoutout Arizona, Voyage Phoenix, online
2020 Kolaj Magazine #29, print and online, featured artist
2019 Art in the 48, PBS, television and online, featured artist
Printmaking Today, featured artist
2017 Studio Visit Magazine, Juror: Diana Gaston
2016 COVER Southern Printmaking Biennial International VII Catalog
Pacific States Biennial Catalog
4 Rivers Print Biennial Catalog
The Hand Magazine, Featured Artist
COVER and Featured Artist, Revenge Magazine No. 3
3rd Atlanta Printmakers Biennial Catalog
2015 Southern Graphics Council International Travelling Members Exhibition Catalog
The Contemporary Print Catalog
Delta National Small Prints Exhibition Catalog
2014 Rolled Stone and Inked Catalog
International Biennial Print Exhibit: 2014 ROC Catalog
2nd International Mezzotint Festival Catalog
Los Angeles Printmakers 21st National Juried Exhibition Catalog
2nd Atlanta Printmakers Biennial Catalog
7th International Printmaking Biennial of Douro Catalog
2013 23rd Parkside National Small Print Exhibition Catalog
Global Print 2013 Catalog
2012 6th International Printmaking Biennial of Douro Catalog
Atlanta Printmakers Biennial Catalog
2011 Collision and Equilibrium International Exhibition Catalog
Pie Crust Magazine, Vol. 1: Issue 1
Trendland, Online art and fashion magazine
Velvet Magazine, Venezuelan art, trend, design and culture magazine
COVER, ARTspace Original Print Exchange and Exhibition Catalog
7th Annual National Self-portrait and Exhibition Catalog
PORTFOLIO EXCHANGES
2019 Reemerge – Curator: Ruthann Godollei
A Shrinking World – Curator: Andrew Mullaly
2019 Sanctuary – Curator: Shelley Thortenson
2018 Appearances – Curator: Francis van der Reit
Afraid of Black – Curator: Francis van der Reit
The Big Crash – Curator: Rutann Godollei
First Contact – Curator: Jessi Hardesty
2016 The Visceral Hand – Curators: Michael Weigman and Joshua Johnson
Donde Esta Mi Pistola? – Curator: Miguel Arragon
Dog Head Stew – Curator: Melanie Yazzie
Not Approved by The Comics Code Authority Too! - Curator: Joseph Lupo
2016 Print or Die: Superstition – Curator: Dominic Senebaldi
2015 Who We Are – Curator: Melanie Yazzie
Frogman’s Print and Paper Workshop 35th Anniversary Exchange – Curator: Jeremy Menard
World Building – Curator: Janet Ballweg
Premonition – Curator: Chris Blume
Print or Die! – Curator: Dominic Senibaldi
2014 Drawn from The McClung – Curators: Sydney Cross, Beauvais Lyons and Althea Murphy
Better Living – Curator: Ashton Ludden
Portraits of Papa Barnes – Curator: Chris Cannon
2014 Krampus – Organizer: Curtis Readel
Body of Christ – Curator: Ricardo Ruiz
Print or Die 2014 “Humanimal” – Curator: Dominic Snebaldi
2013 2013 SGCI Members Portfolio Exchange
Communication Breakdown – Curator: The Scavengers
Print or Die! – Curator: Dominic Senibaldi
Frogman’s Printmaking Workshop Portfolio Exchange for 2013 – Curator: Jeremy Menard
2012 Both Sides of the Brain: An International Mezzotint Portfolio Exchange and Exhibition
Organizer/Curator: Aaron S. Coleman
Salt City Dozen Exchange and Exhibition, Syracuse University, Juror: Beauvais Lyons, Organizer: Dusty Herbig
2011 ARTspace Original Print Exchange and Exhibition, Windsor, Ontario Canada – Organizer: ARTspace
International Print Exchange, Derbyshire, United Kingdom, Organizer: Green Door Printmaking tudios
International Mezzotint Society Portfolio Exchange and Exhibition – Organizer: Jayne Reid Jackson
The Littlest Print Exchange – Juror: Christopher Clark
2009 Rhythm, Advanced printmaking portfolio exchange, Herron School of Art, Organizer: Lauren Kussro and Coco Rico
2008 Phobia, Advanced lithography portfolio exchange, Herron School of Art, Organizer: Chunwoo Nam
