Mat Gleason (born October, 1964) is an American-born author and curator.[1]

Gleason became known through Coagula Art Journal which he founded in 1992, and later via its brick and mortar continuation as Coagula Curatorial.[2]

Coagula Art Journal

Coagula Art Journal was founded in 1992 by Mat Gleason after finishing his education at California State University Los Angeles. Gleason used the proceeds of a winning 1992 Super Bowl bet to create a punk zine for the art world.[3]

Employing tabloid-style commentary, gossip, and reviews of the contemporary art world, Coagula and Gleason garnered significant influence, leading to citations in other major publications.[4][5] The New York Times, calling Gleason a "famously provocative local art critic," cited his opinion on popular street sculptures as " 'garbage on the streets' that reminded him of 'a kid's finger-painting class.'"[6][7]

Originally a freely distributed contemporary art magazine, articles collected are now in two anthologies, Most Art Sucks and The Century Hit Puberty: Selected Essays 2010-2014. David Bowie, a subscriber to Coagula Art Journal, wrote a review of Most Art Sucks, Coagula's 1998 anthology, summing up the project as, “Cruel, insensitive and thoroughly enjoyable!”[3] The magazine's 113th, issue published in 2016, celebrated 160 women artists, curators, and collectors.

Coagula Curatorial

In April 2012, Gleason launched Coagula Curatorial, on Chinatown's historic Chung King Road; the gallery closed in 2019. Following the same rebellious, controversial spirit[8] as the magazine, Coagula Curatorial presented solo shows by contemporary artists such as Abel Alejandre, Karen Finley, Kim Dingle, Gronk, Llyn Foulkes, Sheree Rose, and others. The gallery also utilized guest curators, who have included other prominent artists in Coagula exhibitions such as: John Fleck, Gajin Fujita, Diane Gamboa, Rafael Reyes, Peter Shelton, and others.

Film and television

Gleason has appeared as commentator in film and television programs about art and Los Angeles for two decades, discussing subjects such as the American Hotel,[9] Llyn Foulkes,[10] Paul Paiement, Robert Williams,[11] and censorship in film.[12][5] He discussed the paintings of former President George Bush on CNN.[13]

Gleason was a judge for seasons on the RuPaul hosted body paint competition show, Skin Wars: Fresh Paint.[14]

Books and articles

Gleason is the author and co-author of numerous books on art, including most recently Robert Williams: Father of Exponential Imagination.[15]

RevHaloFan and Josh Hamilton controversy

Gleason led SB Nation's Los Angeles Angels blog Halos Heaven beginning in 2005 using the pen name Rev Halofan.[16] He was fired in 2015 for writing a blog post about Josh Hamilton, a player on the Texas Rangers and formerly of the Angels, who had recently admitted to a drug and alcohol relapse that prompted an MLB investigation.[17] SB Nation removed the blog post and parted ways with Gleason, saying that the post "crossed the line between fanaticism and good taste."[18][19]

Personal life

Gleason is married to artist Leigh Salgado.[20]

References

  1. ↑ Vankin, Deborah (December 7, 2013). "Contrarian Mat Gleason joins L.A.'s establishment art club, kind of". losangeletimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  2. ↑ "RSS Art Critic Mat Gleason Launches Coagula Curatorial Art Gallery". artfixdailywire.com. Artfix Daily. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  3. 1 2 Kraus, Chris. "Magazine Bazaar Mat Gleason's Coagula". bidoun.org. Bidoun. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  4. ↑ Moyer, Justin Wm. "Chris Burden: Why 'extreme' artist was shot, kicked and crucified". Washington Post. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  5. 1 2 Kennicott, Paul. "'Art City': A Compelling Collection of Film Portraits". Washington Post. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  6. ↑ Kinzer, Stephen (August 20, 2001). "Art on Streets Till the Cows Come Home". The New York Times. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  7. ↑ Ellsworth-Jones, Will (December 2021). Banksy: The Man Behind the Wall: Revised and Illustrated Edition. London: Frances Lincoln. p. 246. ISBN 978-0711264328.
  8. ↑ Steinbuch, Yaron (July 27, 2017). "Facebook Twitter Flipboard Email Copy O.J. Simpson is getting a pop-up museum in LA". nypost.com. New York Post.
  9. ↑ "Tales Of The American". thefilmcatalogue.com. The Film Catalog. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  10. ↑ "LLYN FOULKES ONE MAN BAND". filmbox.com. Filmbox. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Robert Williams Mr. Bitchin'". styleweekly.com. Style Weekly. July 30, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Mat Gleason". tvguide.com. TV Guide. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Bush paints, but is he any good?". CNN. November 20, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Art-Themed Bodypainting Show 'Skin Wars: Fresh Paint' to Feature RuPaul and Mat Gleason". artnet.com. ArtNet. August 11, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  15. ↑ Williams, Robert (2019). Robert Williams, the father of exponential imagination : drawings, paintings, & sculptures. Mat Gleason. Seattle, Washington. ISBN 978-1-68396-027-0. OCLC 1136137229.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  16. ↑ "Mat Gleason Profile and Activity". SB Nation Los Angeles. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  17. ↑ Bonesteel, Matt. "SBNation takes beating over ghoulish Josh Hamilton post on its Angels blog". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  18. ↑ Bleszinski, Tyler. "Regarding Our Editorial Standards". Blog Huddle, State of the SB Nation. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  19. ↑ Oz, Mike. "Angels blogger booted by SB Nation after hateful Josh Hamilton post". Yahoo.com. Yahoo. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  20. ↑ Looseleaf, Victoria (October 14, 2021). "Leigh Salgado A Feminist For Our Time". artnowla.com. Art Now. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
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