Michael Coleman

Michael Coleman (b. 1951, Dublin) is a painter best known for his rigorously composed, often monochromatic abstract works built through layered colour—frequently culminating in a dominant black. He is widely regarded for his disciplined approach to abstraction, and his practice has spanned over five decades.

Coleman is largely self-taught, though he also studied at Limerick School of Art. He held his first solo exhibition at the Oliver Dowling Gallery, Dublin, in 1977 and continued to exhibit there regularly until 1994. In 1981, he moved to Vienna, where he established a studio and exhibited in Austria and Germany before returning to Dublin in the late 1980s. He has since maintained a strong presence in the Irish and international art scenes.

Coleman’s early work garnered significant recognition, including the Carrolls Open Award at the Irish Exhibition of Living Art (1978), the IELA Power Award (1979), and multiple accolades at EV+A, Limerick. He received an Arts Council Bursary in 1980. His inclusion in the Irish Art of the Seventies exhibitions at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) and the Crawford Art Gallery highlighted the enduring strength of his early practice.

From 2005 to 2008, he served as artist-in-residence in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. His work is held in major public and private collections, including Trinity College Dublin, the Office of Public Works, the Hugh Lane Gallery, and the Arts Council of Ireland.