Exploring Race, History, and Identity: Aaron Coleman’s ‘Delicate and Filled with Dynamite’ Opens at Purdue Galleries
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University Galleries, in celebration and solidarity with black history month, is proud to announce the opening of Aaron Coleman’s solo exhibition, “Delicate and Filled with Dynamite.”
The exhibition’s title comes from Christina Sharpe’s book In the Wake, referencing a quote from a civil rights movement participant who described the era as “delicate and filled with dynamite.” Coleman’s work explores themes of displacement, historical erasure and cultural memory. His artistic practice is also influenced by Saidiya Hartman’s Lose Your Mother, which examines the loss of home, heritage and identity due to the transatlantic slave trade.
Coleman is a multi-disciplinary artist, associate professor and Kenneth E. Tyler Endowed Chair at the Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis. His work has been exhibited internationally, and he has received numerous accolades. His mixed-media assemblages are featured in the 2024 Midwest volume of New American Paintings and Dovetail Magazine. His works are housed in collections including the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, the National Library of France and The Janet Turner Print Museum.
“My current studio practice comprises an amalgam of creative processes and historical research,” Coleman said. “Utilizing printmaking, painting, collage, sculpture and installation, I create works that address how mundane and seemingly anodyne artifacts embody the complex and pervasive history of race and class in the United States.”
Coleman’s art challenges viewers to engage with difficult histories by juxtaposing familiar objects with unsettling imagery. “The objects—picket fences, coloring books, textiles, basketball court flooring, are visually or physically juxtaposed with contrary or jarring images that release uncomfortable truths and suppressed stories which are both personal and political,” he said.
“Delicate and Filled with Dynamite” will be on display in Rueff Galleries East from Feb. 3 to 27. Admission to all exhibitions and events is free and open to the public. Purdue Galleries invites the public to experience this thought-provoking exhibition, which offers a compelling reflection on race, history and identity through innovative artistic expression.