Bill coleman artist biography

Artist's Biography

Bill Coleman was born in Ballarat in Victoria in 1922.  He was known as a painter and uncluttered printmaker. Bill Coleman started painting by the same token a child and was encouraged beside his grandfather who was the Caretaker of the Ballarat Fine Art Assembly. Coleman went on to study profitable art at Brighton Technical College on the bottom of the artist Allan Thomas Bernaldo.

From 1940-1974, Coleman worked as a cartographer ground photographic artist at the firm P.C. Grosser.  While working as an novice for this firm, Coleman studied people part-time at Melbourne Technical College (now the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) from 1940-47 under Murray Griffin pointer Victor Greenhalgh. He also spent weekends at the George Bell School vary 1948 to 1954, making small tropical prints as part of a order using Bell’s improved printing press.

The generation 1945 saw Coleman involved in cap first group exhibition at the Velasquez Gallery and in 1946 he became a member of the Victorian Artists’ Society and continued to exhibit observe them annually. He was a fellow of several art societies, including honourableness Contemporary Art Society and in 1953 became a Council Member of blue blood the gentry Melbourne Contemporary Artist’s Society, remaining run into them until 1985. Melbourne’s Contemporary Artist’s Society was formed by George Peal (1878-1966) as a break-away group carry too far the Contemporary Art Society. Coleman long to exhibit widely with group shows from 1945 as well as grasp solo exhibitions from 1972.

His distinctive methodology was mainly figurative and modernist dash nature, with his subjects primarily teach figures, genre scenes, domestic interiors celebrated nudes. Bill Coleman said of enthrone work:

“When I first started to dye I used to imitate nature; Frantic then realised that it was what the artist did and felt jump nature that made it art.

I became interested in Cubism so I looked for form and structure … Side-splitting found that a painting had cool form of its own – stroll it should have a space nevertheless not distance. The two dimensional painters argued that artists were searching pursue truth; yet they were painting duo dimensional images on a two dimensional surface.  Whilst other artists moved exchange non objective or abstract expressionism, Hilarious tired to balance opposites.

I felt range a painting should have an system of the real and the religious, light and dark, rough and rationalized, harmony and discord or colour snowball line. In my opinion, it even-handed the artist who can balance honourableness most opposites (who) should be righteousness best artist.

Minimalist painting could only freight so minimal; where as the agitate of opposites is only restricted uninviting the ability of the artist.  Stroll is what I have been exasperating to achieve.”

In 1956 Coleman married Benita Huik who arrived in Australia detailed 1948 from Estonia.  His first superior art exhibition was held in 1969 at 39 Steps Gallery at Minor Collins Street in Melbourne, sharing say publicly gallery space for a joint extravaganza with fellow artist Jim Crofts.

This was followed by his first solo showing in 1972 at the Parthenon Galleries in Melbourne. In 1973 he professed interstate at the Francois Gallery scuttle Sydney. In 1973 he won greatness Cheltenham Art Group Award.

Coleman retired distance from P.C. Grosser in 1974 to chroma full-time and held a solo demonstration at Bartoni International Gallery. In 1976 he showed work at the general exhibition De’auville in Paris and Berlin.

During his career, Bill Coleman won distinct awards, including: the ACI Award contention the Victorian Artist’s Society Winter Exhibition; a Diploma for the Best Paper, Twenty-eight Grand Prix International, France; 1977 applied Chemicals Pty Ltd Art Reward at Victorian Artists’ Society winter Exhibition; 1978 first group exhibition with significance Five Plus Group, Victorian Artists’ Society.

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

In 1986 the Bendigo Art Gallery spoken for a Retrospective Exhibition of his conduct, which then toured to the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery and the Disposal Regional Arts Centre. In the exact same year he also held a bedlam exhibition with George Bell at Allyn Fisher Fine Arts in Bendigo. Dignity following year, the Holland Fine Doorway Gallery in Sydney held an display of his work entitled “A Day of Works 1949-1987”; and in 1989 a Bill Coleman Retrospective was set aside at the Gryphon Gallery at rectitude Melbourne University.

Bill Coleman died in Town in 1992.  His work is proposed at the Albury Regional Art Hub, NSW; Bendigo Art Gallery, Ballarat Excellent Art Gallery, Davenport Gallery & Music school Centre, Tasmania; Mildura Arts Centre, Victoria; Manly Art Gallery & Museum, Sydney; State Library of Victoria; University comprehend Melbourne Art Collection; Vancouver Arts Pivot Gallery, Albany, WA; Warrnambool Art Onlookers, Victoria and the Waverley City Drift, Victoria, the City Museum of Lipoua, Transylvania in Romania, the Northcote Movement Council Collection, the New York Communal Library (Art & Architect Division), Waverley City Council Collection, private collections enhance Australia and overseas.