James Coleman (born 1941) is an Irish installation and video artist associated with

slide-tape A slide-tape work (often slide-tape presentation) is an audiovisual work consisting of a slide show using a filmstrip machine with synchronised accompanying audio, traditionally audio tape. These have frequently been used for education and for tour ...

works: sequences of still images fading one into the other with synchronized sound. Often, social situations are depicted with a precision which, paradoxically, creates a narrative ambiguity. There is often a focus in his works on how time can warp subjective experience, and how this subjectivity is indispensable to an understanding of how the photographic image accrues meaning. James Coleman was born in Ballaghaderreen,

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

. He studied at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, and at

University College, Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

and then spent time in Paris and London before moving to

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, where he stayed for twenty years. He now lives and works in Ireland. He represented Ireland in the 1973 Paris Biennale. His many exhibitions include a large retrospective shown in a number of major galleries throughout Dublin in 2009, and retrospectives at Reina Sofia, Madrid (2012), and at Centre Pompidou, Paris (2021). He was conferred with the degree of Doctor of Fine Arts ''honoris causa'' by the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

NUI Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

in June 2006.

Work in collections

*S.M.A.K. –

Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst The Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (commonly abbreviated as S.M.A.K., translated as ''City Museum for Contemporary Art'') is a relatively new museum located in Ghent, Belgium, and is renowned both for its permanent collection (Art & Langua ...

, Gent *Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Paris *

Musée National d'Art Moderne The Musée National d'Art Moderne (; "National Museum of Modern Art") is the national museum for modern art of France. It is located in the 4th arrondissement of Paris and is housed in the Centre Pompidou. In 2021 it ranked 10th in the list of ...

, Paris * Museum Ludwig, Cologne *

Irish Museum of Modern Art The Irish Museum of Modern Art (), also known as IMMA, is Ireland's leading national institution for the collection and presentation of modern and contemporary art. It is located in Kilmainham, Dublin. History Irish art collector Gordon Lam ...

, Dublin *

Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona The Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (, , MACBA, ) is a contemporary art museum situated in the Plaça dels Àngels, in El Raval neighborhood, Ciutat Vella district, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The museum opened to the public on 28 Novembe ...

, BarcelonaList of Artworks at MACBA
*Kunstmuseum Luzern, Luzern

References

*Paula Murphy (2002), ''Coleman, James'' in Brian Lalor (Ed.), ''The Encyclopedia of Ireland''. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan.

External links

Simon Lee Gallery, London.Exhibited at DIA Chelsea
announces purchase of important works by James Coleman.

Aosdána biographical note
Exhibition at Documenta 12Exhibition at Fundació Antoni Tàpies.
1941 births Living people Irish installation artists Irish contemporary artists Aosdána members People from Ballaghaderreen Alumni of the National College of Art and Design Artists from County Roscommon {{Ireland-artist-stub