James Coleman

This year-long project in three consecutive parts was devoted to the work of the Irish artist James Coleman. This was the first major museum presentation in the U.S. of Coleman's work. Born in Dublin in 1941, Coleman has been making multimedia works for over twenty years. Although he has used film and video as well as live-theater production, the medium which Coleman has made particularly his own is the unusual one of "slide-tape" multiple slide projection with synchronized audio tape. Coleman created a new work for Dia titled I N I T I A L S, which was shown throughout the duration of the exhibition; in addition, six other works ranging from 1972-92 were on view in three different installations of approximately 3 months each, providing a sense of the breadth of his work in this medium. Though widely shown in the most important contemporary art museums in Europe, the range of Coleman's work has never been made available to American audiences. This exhibition toured to the Kunstmuseum Lucerne, April 9-June 18, 1995.