Has anyone seen the Joe Coleman exhibition at KW?
I went there yesterday after having missed the opening last week. To say the least, it was disconcerting to see his art in KW. Those who have been to KW before know the kind of art that is usually shown there, well, this is different, to say the least. Don´t get me wrong, I really liked the exhibition, it was disturbing, strange, touching, a bit spooky also. Joe Coleman`s art is a far cry from anything minimalist or conceptual, his carefully painted portraits of killers, musicians, bikers and “freaks”, are full of narrative detail and you need to “have a picture to yourself” when you visit the exhibition because of all the small text, all the detail of each painting. Actually I was glad not having seen the show during the opening where a careful examination of the pictures would have been impossible.
The wax figures of criminals, of freaks, the figure of death and the caravans standing in the big KW hall give the exhibition space something of an old spooky fairground feel.
It is the first exhibition curated by Susanne Pfeffer, the new curator of KW, and she certainly managed to give the place a completely different atmosphere. Weird.
The hip kids guarding the art works looked a bit out of place.
Go and see for yourself!

picture from the KW website:

Indian Larry`s Wilde Ride, 2005
Acryl auf Holz
111,8 x 120,7 cm
Private Collection