Craig Coleman
Feb 27, 2025 - May 25, 2025
Closet Geometry
Closet Geometry, Atlanta-based artist Craig Coleman transforms Sliver Space into a luminous meditation on the complexity of self. Using video projection in the narrow, trapezoid-shaped room to create a kaleidoscopic environment where fragmented projections depict the multiplicity of identity.
The projections create a moving collage of geometric forms—triangles, circles, diamonds, and stars—referencing non-binary identities. Oscillating between abstract visuals and symbolic imagery, representing fragments of the artist's life and journey as a non-binary, bisexual individual.
Interwoven within this visual tapestry are intimate moments: close-up footage of the artist’s feminine attire—high heels, stockings, dresses, and wigs—paired with ambiguous depictions of applying makeup and dressing in traditionally feminine clothing. These sequences evoke the artist's lifelong negotiation with identity, secrecy, and self-acceptance, particularly within the culturally restrictive environment of the Southeast.
Other scenes feature plastic miniature toys, rotating in hypnotic close-up. These objects, tinted in hues of the pride flag, symbolize restraint, duality, and the struggle to reconcile and embrace a multifaceted self.
Coleman’s installation transforms Sliver Space into an introspective, sensory experience—a declaration of vulnerability, resilience, and the beauty of embracing complexity. The narrow confines of the space intensify the layered imagery, drawing viewers into the fragmented yet radiant story of a life illuminated by self-discovery.
Bios
Craig Coleman
Craig Coleman is an artist and curator who works in photography, installation, and digital media. Coleman received their BFA from Florida State University and their MFA from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Currently, they are a Professor of Art in the Department of Art and Design at Mercer University.
Their work uses photography’s historical connection to science as a point of departure to create images that approach seeing in unconventional and experimental ways. By blending analog and digital tools, Coleman crafts kinetic shapes and textures in light, extending the human eye to perceive objects in the world within new and transformative contexts. Their use of light, mixed media, and sound not only reflects a deep engagement with abstraction but also serves as a metaphor for their complex identity as a queer, non-binary artist with ADHD. These layered approaches embody a search for connection, both within their own multifaceted experiences and through the broader history of art and queer creativity.
Coleman's photographs, mixed media works, and installations have been exhibited in numerous venues, including the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (Atlanta, GA), Paul Sharpe Contemporary Art (New York), Asheville Art Museum (NC), the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (Boulder, CO), SOIL Gallery (Seattle, WA), The Atlantic Center for the Arts (FL), Art Fields (Lake City, SC), Down Arts Centre (Downpatrick, Northern Ireland), Horsehead International Projects (Seattle, WA), The Arvada Center for the Arts (Arvada, CO), Carol Keller Gallery (Denver, CO), WARP HAUS (Gainesville, FL), the Villa Croce Museum
(Genoa, Italy), and most recently, Emory University’s Science Gallery (Atlanta, GA).
Location
Sliver Space
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