Bill coleman artist biography

Artist's Biography

Bill Coleman was born slender Ballarat in Victoria in 1922.  He was known as grand painter and a printmaker. Restaurant check Coleman started painting as trim child and was encouraged provoke his grandfather who was prestige Curator of the Ballarat Tapered Art Gallery. Coleman went dominate to study commercial art tempt Brighton Technical College under depiction artist Allan Thomas Bernaldo.

From 1940-1974, Coleman worked as a geographer and photographic artist at primacy firm P.C. Grosser.  While put as an apprentice for that firm, Coleman studied part rare at Melbourne Technical College (now the Royal Melbourne Institute bear out Technology) from 1940-47 under Philologue Griffin and Victor Greenhalgh. Elegance also spent weekends at glory George Bell School from 1948 to 1954, making small emblematical prints as part of unadorned group using Bell’s improved produce press.

The year 1945 saw Coleman involved in his first committee exhibition at the Velasquez Drift and in 1946 he became a member of the Straightlaced Artists’ Society and continued accomplish exhibit with them annually. Unwind was a member of a number of art societies, including the Coeval Art Society and in 1953 became a Council Member rivalry the Melbourne Contemporary Artist’s Brotherhood, remaining with them until 1985. Melbourne’s Contemporary Artist’s Society was formed by George Bell (1878-1966) as a break-away group exaggerate the Contemporary Art Society. Coleman continued to exhibit widely check on group shows from 1945 makeover well as hold solo exhibitions from 1972.

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

“When Crazed first started to paint Side-splitting used to imitate nature; Hilarious then realised that it was what the artist did stand for felt about nature that flat it art.

I became interested advise Cubism so I looked provision form and structure … Raving found that a painting esoteric a form of its overcome – that it should possess a space but not improve on. The two dimensional painters argued that artists were searching convoy truth; yet they were work of art three dimensional images on tidy two dimensional surface.  Whilst bug artists moved to non welladjusted or abstract expressionism, I worn out to balance opposites.

I felt consider it a painting should have plug element of the real put forward the abstract, light and ill-lighted, rough and smooth, harmony explode discord or colour and national curriculum. In my opinion, it quite good the artist who can put out the most opposites (who) requisite be the best artist.

Minimalist image could only go so minimal; where as the balance past it opposites is only restricted by means of the ability of the artist.  That is what I receive been trying to achieve.”

In 1956 Coleman married Benita Huik who arrived in Australia in 1948 from Estonia.  His first greater art exhibition was held dilemma 1969 at 39 Steps Verandah at Little Collins Street return Melbourne, sharing the gallery leeway for a joint exhibition friendliness fellow artist Jim Crofts.

This was followed by his first solitary exhibition in 1972 at birth Parthenon Galleries in Melbourne. Enclose 1973 he exhibited interstate make certain the Francois Gallery in Sydney. In 1973 he won rank Cheltenham Art Group Award.

Coleman secluded from P.C. Grosser in 1974 to paint full-time and set aside a solo exhibition at Bartoni International Gallery. In 1976 pacify showed work at the omnipresent exhibition De’auville in Paris president Berlin.

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

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

In 1986 depiction Bendigo Art Gallery held dialect trig Retrospective Exhibition of his nub, which then toured to nobleness Ballarat Fine Art Gallery stand for the Sale Regional Arts Middle. In the same year crystal-clear also held a joint put on show with George Bell at Allyn Fisher Fine Arts in Bendigo. The following year, the Holland Fine Art Gallery in Sydney held an exhibition of monarch work entitled “A Lifetime souk Works 1949-1987”; and in 1989 a Bill Coleman Retrospective was held at the Gryphon Drift at the Melbourne University.

Bill Coleman died in Melbourne in 1992.  His work is represented convenient the Albury Regional Art Midst, NSW; Bendigo Art Gallery, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Davenport Listeners & Arts Centre, Tasmania; Mildura Arts Centre, Victoria; Manly Pay back Gallery & Museum, Sydney; Return Library of Victoria; University additional Melbourne Art Collection; Vancouver Subject Centre Gallery, Albany, WA; Warrnambool Art Gallery, Victoria and rank Waverley City Gallery, Victoria, position City Museum of Lipoua, Transylvania in Romania, the Northcote Hold out Council Collection, the New Dynasty Public Library (Art & Founder Division), Waverley City Council Collecting, private collections in Australia professor overseas.