Mat Gleason (born October, 1964) is an American-born author and curator. Gleason became known through

Coagula Art Journal ''Coagula Art Journal'' was founded in 1992 by Mat Gleason as a freely distributed contemporary art magazine. Since its inception, the publication remains free as a PDF download, however readers may still obtain a hard copy via "print on demand" ...

which he founded in 1992, and later via its brick and mortar continuation as

Coagula Curatorial ''Coagula Curatorial'' is a contemporary art gallery founded in April 2012 by Mat Gleason, Los Angeles art critic & curator. From 1992-2011, Gleason published Coagula Art Journal, a free zine-style publication on contemporary art, which gained noto ...

''Coagula Art Journal''

''Coagula Art Journal'' was founded in 1992 by Mat Gleason after finishing his education at

California State University Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...

. Gleason used the proceeds of a winning 1992 Super Bowl bet to create a punk zine for the art world. 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. ''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.'" 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 David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, 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!”. The magazine's 113th, issue published in 2016, celebrated 160 women artists, curators, and collectors.

Coagula Curatorial

In April 2012, Gleason launched

, on Chinatown's historic

Chung King Road Chung King Road, along with Chung King Court containing a water fountain in its center, is a pedestrian street complex in the northwest corner of Chinatown, Los Angeles. This street is a part of "New Chinatown," built in the 1930s and 1940s, and wa ...

; the gallery closed in 2019. Following the same rebellious, controversial spirit as the magazine, Coagula Curatorial presented solo shows by contemporary artists such as Abel Alejandre, Karen Finley, Kim Dingle,

Gronk ''grOnk'', or GRoNK, was a Canadian literary magazine begun in 1967 by bpNichol and others (for example, David Aylward, David W. Harris (later David UU; co-editor for the first series (8 issues, 1967), and editor of most of the seventh series ( ...

Llyn Foulkes Llyn Foulkes (born 17 November 1934, in Yakima, Washington) is an American artist living and working in Los Angeles. As a student at Chouinard Art Institute (now CalArts), Foulkes began exhibiting with the Ferus Gallery, Los Angeles in 1959. He ...

, 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 is a graffiti artist from East Los Angeles. He is a member of LA graffiti crews K2S (Kill 2 Succeed) and KGB (Kids Gone Bad). Background and education He was born in 1972 to Japanese parents. Fujita holds an MFA from the University of Nevada, Las ...

Diane Gamboa Diane Gamboa (born 1957) has been producing, exhibiting and curating visual art in Southern California since the 1980s. She has also been involved art education, ranging from after-school programs to college and university teaching. Gamboa has bee ...

Rafael Reyes Rafael Reyes Prieto (December 5, 1849 – February 18, 1921) was a Colombian politician and soldier who was the Chief of Staff of the Colombian National Army and President of Colombia (1904–1909).Gobernantes Colombianos, Ignacio Arismendi Posa ...

, 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, Llyn Foulkes, Paul Paiement, Robert Williams, and censorship in film. He discussed the paintings of former President George Bush on CNN. Gleason was a judge for seasons on the

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...

hosted body paint competition show, ''Skin Wars: Fresh Paint''.

Books and articles

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

RevHaloFan and Josh Hamilton controversy

For many years Gleason was the lead Los Angeles Angels blogger at SB Nation. He was fired in 2015 for writing a scathing commentary about league complacency regarding drugs, using Angel's outfielder

Josh Hamilton Joshua Holt Hamilton (born May 21, 1981) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from to , most prominently as a member of the Texas Rangers teams that won two consecutive Americ ...

trade to the Texas Rangers as an example.

Personal life

Gleason is married to artist Leigh Salgado.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gleason, Mat Living people 1964 births Date of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American writers American cultural critics California State University, Los Angeles alumni Place of birth missing (living people)