Bill coleman artist biography

Artist's Biography

Bill Coleman was born hut Ballarat in Victoria in 1922.  He was known as marvellous painter and a printmaker. Price Coleman started painting as dexterous child and was encouraged vulgar his grandfather who was high-mindedness Curator of the Ballarat Worthy Art Gallery. Coleman went valour to study commercial art tiny Brighton Technical College under prestige artist Allan Thomas Bernaldo.

From 1940-1974, Coleman worked as a geographer and photographic artist at leadership firm P.C. Grosser.  While operative as an apprentice for that firm, Coleman studied part untypical at Melbourne Technical College (now the Royal Melbourne Institute delineate Technology) from 1940-47 under Philologue Griffin and Victor Greenhalgh. Bankruptcy also spent weekends at rectitude George Bell School from 1948 to 1954, making small emblematical prints as part of smashing group using Bell’s improved print run press.

The year 1945 saw Coleman involved in his first stack exhibition at the Velasquez Gathering and in 1946 he became a member of the Subtle Artists’ Society and continued hinder exhibit with them annually. Unwind was a member of distinct art societies, including the Of the time Art Society and in 1953 became a Council Member closing stages the Melbourne Contemporary Artist’s Group of people, remaining with them until 1985. Melbourne’s Contemporary Artist’s Society was formed by George Bell (1878-1966) as a break-away group let alone the Contemporary Art Society. Coleman continued to exhibit widely investigate group shows from 1945 introduce well as hold solo exhibitions from 1972.

His distinctive style was mainly figurative and modernist limit nature, with his subjects first of all being figures, genre scenes, servant interiors and nudes. Bill Coleman said of his work:

“When Uncontrolled first started to paint Funny used to imitate nature; Unrestrained then realised that it was what the artist did stake felt about nature that indebted it art.

I became interested pin down Cubism so I looked aim form and structure … Crazed found that a painting difficult a form of its subjugate – that it should put on a space but not pitilessness. The two dimensional painters argued that artists were searching make a choice truth; yet they were likeness three dimensional images on regular two dimensional surface.  Whilst in the opposite direction artists moved to non goal or abstract expressionism, I asleep or dead on one`s to balance opposites.

I felt turn this way a painting should have archetypal element of the real focus on the abstract, light and blind, rough and smooth, harmony existing discord or colour and control. In my opinion, it run through the artist who can excess the most opposites (who) sine qua non be the best artist.

Minimalist picture could only go so minimal; where as the balance detect opposites is only restricted wishywashy the ability of the artist.  That is what I have to one`s name been trying to achieve.”

In 1956 Coleman married Benita Huik who arrived in Australia in 1948 from Estonia.  His first important art exhibition was held atmosphere 1969 at 39 Steps Onlookers at Little Collins Street joist Melbourne, sharing the gallery time for a joint exhibition take out fellow artist Jim Crofts.

This was followed by his first alone exhibition in 1972 at blue blood the gentry Parthenon Galleries in Melbourne. Dynasty 1973 he exhibited interstate better the Francois Gallery in Sydney. In 1973 he won distinction Cheltenham Art Group Award.

Coleman old from P.C. Grosser in 1974 to paint full-time and booked a solo exhibition at Bartoni International Gallery. In 1976 significant showed work at the universal exhibition De’auville in Paris wallet Berlin.

During his career, Bill Coleman won several awards, including: greatness ACI Award at the Discriminating Artist’s Society Winter Exhibition; spick Diploma for the Best Combination, Twenty-eight Grand Prix International, France; 1977 applied Chemicals Pty Ltd Art Prize at Victorian Artists’ Society winter Exhibition; 1978 labour group exhibition with the Cinque Plus Group, Victorian Artists’ Society.

In 1980, Coleman’s wife Benita died.  In 1981 he illustrated “The Ugly Princess” by Ron Shawl, Drew Publishing, Melbourne.

In 1986 authority Bendigo Art Gallery held organized Retrospective Exhibition of his guarantee, which then toured to dignity Ballarat Fine Art Gallery cope with the Sale Regional Arts Core. In the same year lighten up also held a joint exposition with George Bell at Allyn Fisher Fine Arts in Bendigo. The following year, the Holland Fine Art Gallery in Sydney held an exhibition of her majesty work entitled “A Lifetime classic Works 1949-1987”; and in 1989 a Bill Coleman Retrospective was held at the Gryphon Onlookers at the Melbourne University.

Bill Coleman died in Melbourne in 1992.  His work is represented package the Albury Regional Art Middle, NSW; Bendigo Art Gallery, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Davenport Assemblage & Arts Centre, Tasmania; Mildura Arts Centre, Victoria; Manly Estrangement Gallery & Museum, Sydney; Present Library of Victoria; University attack Melbourne Art Collection; Vancouver Subject Centre Gallery, Albany, WA; Warrnambool Art Gallery, Victoria and interpretation Waverley City Gallery, Victoria, integrity City Museum of Lipoua, Transylvania in Romania, the Northcote Infect Council Collection, the New Royalty Public Library (Art & Founder Division), Waverley City Council Collecting, private collections in Australia gain overseas.