TOGETHER
ED BRONER + ANTHONY COLEMAN
MAR 09-30 2024
BREACH GALLERY PRESENTS, “TOGETHER”, AN EXHIBITION FOR CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS ED BRONER AND ANTHONY COLEMAN. TAKING PLACE MARCH 9 – 30, THE SHOW PRESENTS A SERIES OF UNIQUE PAPER PIECES FROM THE TWO ARTISTS. INCORPORATING MOTIFS FROM POP CULTURE AND URBAN LIFE, THEIR WORK REFLECTS AN INTIMATE DIALOGUE BETWEEN IMAGINATION AND MODERN MYTHOLOGIES.
ED BRONER (B. 1971) STARTED TO PAINT IN THE LATE 1980S AND DEVELOPED HIS ARTISTIC SENSE WHILE PART OF THE PARISIAN GRAFFITI SCENE. USING HIS PHOTOS AND CANVAS AS A PERSONAL DIARY, BRONER SEEKS TO HIGHLIGHT THE BEAUTY OF REALNESS AND AUTHENTICITY, WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY HONORING THE IDEAS AND SYMBOLS PREVALENT IN MODERN URBAN CULTURE. COMBINING INFLUENCES FROM STREET ART AND CONTEMPORARY PAINTING, AS WELL AS FROM ABORIGINAL AND AFRICAN ART, HE SEEKS TO OPEN A CHANNEL BETWEEN WESTERN AND NON-WESTERN CULTURES. BY REFLECTING AND OFTEN SUBVERSIVELY IRONIZING PARTICULAR AESTHETICS, BRONER DECONSTRUCTS HIS THEMATIC ELEMENTS WITH AN ORGANIC AND RAW OBJECTIVITY. WITH PIECES THAT REFLECT A TRADITIONAL POP ART STYLE, BRONER CODIFIES HIS CHARACTERS AND SIGNATURE DESIGNS TO PRESENT A WHIMSICAL NARRATIVE PATTERN. SATURATED COLOR AND TEXTURE LEND TO THE DREAM-LIKE COMPOSITIONS AS HIS FIGURES NAVIGATE THE SMALL MOMENTS OF EVERYDAY LIFE.
ANTHONY COLEMAN (B. 1969) IS A SELF-TAUGHT ARTIST, BORN AND RAISED IN PHILADELPHIA. INSPIRED AT A YOUNG AGE TO CREATE ART, HE FOUND EXPRESSION THROUGH THE USE OF VARIED AND CONVENIENT MEDIUMS SUCH AS SCRAPS OF PAPER, NAPKINS, NEWSPAPERS, AND DISCARDED PIZZA BOXES. INFLUENCED GREATLY BY THE SEMINAL CARTOONS AND POP ART FROM THE 1970S AND ‘80S, COLEMAN CONTINUES TO RE-IGNITE A VIBRANT PERSPECTIVE ON MODERN FOLK. BY ABSTRACTING AND RE-IMAGINING THESE RECOGNIZABLE FIGURES FROM CINEMA, COMICS, AND MUSIC, HE PRESENTS A PLAYFUL VISION OF ICONIC CHARACTERS. USING COLORED PENCIL AND GRAPHITE, THE STYLISTIC FLATTENING AND METAMORPHOSIS OF THE SUBJECTS CREATE ECCENTRIC AND SOMETIMES HUMOROUS PORTRAITS. EXAGGERATED FEATURES AND AN ENERGETIC TREATMENT OF LINE AND COLOR BRING COLEMAN’S WORK INTO THE SPACE BETWEEN IDOLATRY AND NOSTALGIA.
