Aaron Coleman
Aaron in his studio
Born January 29th, 1985 - Washington D.C.
Aaron Coleman is an Assistant Professor of Art at the University of Arizona. He received his MFA from Northern Illinois University in 2013 and BFA from Herron School of Art and Design in 2009.
As a teenager and young adult Aaron was active in the local Hip-Hop and Graffiti scene in Indianapolis and both remain as major influences in his fine art studio practice and philosophy. As the son of mixed-race parents, Aaron’s life experiences have instilled in him an interest in sociopolitical engagement and social justice work. These experiences are the guiding forces behind the work he creates.
Aaron has exhibited internationally and received numerous awards, scholarships and fellowships for his work in lithography and mezzotint. His work can be found in the collections of The Janet Turner Print Museum, The University of Colorado, Wichita State University, the Ino-cho Paper Museum in Kochi, Japan, The Yekaterinburg Museum of Art in Yekaterinburg, Russia, the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Ewing Gallery Collection, and The Artist Printmaker and Photographer Research Archive among many other public and private collections.
Aaron’s hobbies change from year to year but currently include the cultivation of rare, terrestrial orchids and vivarium culture. He is a husband, a dog lover and a workaholic.
Can you tell us a bit about the process of making your work?
My work (in printmaking) typically starts as a collage. I find influence and/or inspiration in lesser known narratives throughout history and their connection to sociopolitical current events. This inspiration leads me down a path of searching for images and text related to the ideas I’m considering at the time. I start by creating a collage of found imagery. I then alter that collage through drawing and painting as well as digital process. This results in a rough “sketch” that gets regurgitated over and over until I have a composition that conveys the ideas I want. At that point the “sketch” is transferred to intaglio plates, lithography stones and or screens for screen printing. It’s usually a combination of all three but not always. The printmaking processes allow me to unify the look and feel of the original and found imagery which blurs the lines of separation in time and source. The goal is to create a print that is made of old and new connecting our past to our present.
Installation view of Spectator Sport
Lumber, cast plaster, acrylic, latex, enamel, tassels, sneakers, playground rubber mulch and hardware
6ft x 4ft x 8ft
What are you working on at the moment?
I just finished up a pretty large body of mixed media painting/print things. Some are larger and reflect on the last few months of social unrest…and in particular examine the toppling of confederate statues and monuments while imagining the monuments that might replace them. The other works are smaller and are a continuation of my altered coloring book paintings in which I manipulate the images and text of 50s and 60s coloring books to speak to issues of race, identity and our current sociopolitical climate. I’m most excited to begin a set of multi-media installation works that include sculpture, sound and motion….but that’s a secret for now.
Can you tell us about the connection between comics and graphic novels to your printmaking practice?
To the comic aficionado my interest/knowledge of comics would probably be somewhat disappointing. I focus specifically on ‘The Death of Superman” graphic novel for its interesting parallels to the Bible. A man’s only son is sent to earth…he watches over man-kind, is crucified in a way and is then resurrected. My interests in the history of the church and it’s roll in the perpetuation of and benefit from racist ideas are the reason I use a lot of stained-glass imagery in my work…and stained glass is kind of like the graphic novel of the religious world. Stories of good and evil, idealized figures, simplified forms, bright colors and bold graphic lines…So there’s both conceptual and visual mingling that happens between the two sets of imagery for me.
Aaron Coleman, The Pietà
Lumber, latex, acrylic, enamel, blueberries, pepper, cigarette ash, Pan-African Flag and hardware
What are some references you draw upon in your work? Are there any themes in particular that you like to focus on when creating?
I reference quite a bit in my work…probably more than any one person would pick up on. Popular culture, history, fiction and personal experiences all enter into every work I make. But lately I’ve been pretty focused on authoritarian systems of power (science, anthropology, religion, the prison industrial complex etc) and how they are created or manipulated to benefit an elite few while oppressing everyone else.
Where are some of your favorite spaces that support contemporary art or design? Now that the art has an online presence has that changed?
I don’t even know where to start with this one…there’s so many different kinds of places supporting contemporary art. I will say that I am a big fan of galleries, museums and art centers pushing to offer digital/virtual content. Not just because we were all so bored during the pandemic….but because it makes the art world so much more accessible. I’ve been able to watch lectures I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to attend and do virtual walk throughs of exhibitions in other cities/countries. I hope this is something that sticks around post pandemic.
Aaron Coleman, Home Away From Home
Lumber, cast plaster, steel, acrylic, latex, enamel, rug, cording and hardware
Aaron Coleman’s work is included in our show “Multitudes,” March 1st - April 30th. Visit his website or Instagram (aaron_s_coleman) to see more of his work.