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".
The bi-coastal publication employs tabloid-style commentary, gossip, and reviews of the contemporary art world, which garnered significant influence in being cited in other major publications.
The magazine has been referred to as "the publication that the art world loves to hate, and loves to read" and dubbed "The National Enquirer of the Art World". It has also been described as having "nothing constructive about it and arguably hurtful."
In 1998, Smart Art Press released Most Art Sucks: Five Years of Coagula.
In 1999, Coagula selected Karen Finley as Artist Of The Decade.
On March 16, 2001, Coagula won a free speech lawsuit, brought against the publication by Brooklyn resident Ms. Sheh Zand. Sheh's 1992 lawsuit was over articles appearing in Coagula issues #3 and #4, and was covered by New York Magazine., and the Boston Globe
In February 2011, Mat Gleason, founder of Coagula Art Journal, was interviewed by art critic Brian Sherwin for FineArtViews. Gleason stated that Coagula Art Journal was deeply influenced by the writing style of punk zines. He mentioned that Coagula Art Journal will eventually explore internet radio with the launch of CoaguL.A.radio which will provide coverage of the art world. Gleason also stated that “print is dead” and that future releases of Coagula Art Journal will come in the form of a book rather than of a traditional magazine. The interview between Gleason and Sherwin was featured by the Huffington Post.
In April 2012, Gleason launched Coagula Curatorial, a contemporary art gallery on Chinatown's historic Chung King Road. Following the same spirit as the magazine, the gallery has hosted solo shows by contemporary artists such as Karen Finley, Kim Dingle, Gronk, Llyn Foulkes, Sheree Rose and others. The gallery also utilizes guest curators, who have included other prominent artists in Coagula exhibitions such as: John Fleck, Diane Gamboa, Germs, Peter Shelton, Gajin Fujita, Sue de Beer, and others.
The 113th issue of Coagula Art Journal, May 2016, is the largest ever printed in the magazine’s 24 year history at 88 pages. This issue highlights Eric Minh Swenson's documentary photographs of Art Stars – 160 women artists, dealers, and writers in the art scene from New York to California – with an introduction by Mat Gleason.

Contributors (past and present)

Coagula has featured interviews and cover stories of such notable artists as Dan Graham, Ad Reinhardt, Gilbert & George, Matthew Barney, Richard Serra, Sue Coe, John Baldessari, Cindy Sherman, and Larry Clark.
IssueDateArtist/Cover Story
1April 1992Conservative Attacks on Art
2July 1992Los Angeles Riots
3August 1992Chicago Art Expo
4October 1992"NYC: Desperation Row"
5Winter 1993The Secret Life of Peter Halley
6April 1993Zand vs. Nye
7Summer, 1993Clinton to Arts: Drop Dead
8Autumn, 1993Censorship of Filipino Art
9October, 1993Dennis Hollingsworth
10December, 1993Gilbert & George
11January 1994Muranushi/Lederman
12March 1994Roy Lichtenstein
13Summer 1994Peter Plagens
14September, 1994Bob Flanagan
15November, 1994Lisa Adams
16February, 1995O.J. Simpson
17Spring, 1995MOMA Curator, Robert Storr
18September, 1995Claes Oldenburg
19November, 1995MOCA's Temporary Contemporary
20January, 1996Andy Warhol
21April, 1996Lari Pittman
22Summer, 1996Judy Chicago
23September, 1996Jean-Michel Basquiat
24November, 1996Karen Finley
25January, 1997Jean Baudrillard
26March, 1997Carolee Schneemann
27May, 1997Larry Gagosian
28Summer 1997Pat Hearn
29October 1997Robert Rauschenberg
30December 1997Manuel Ocampo
31January 1998Cindy Sherman
32April 1998John Baldessari
33May 1998Chris Kraus
34September 1998Mary Corse
35October, 1998John Fleck
36November, 1998Richard Serra
37January, 1999"Happy New Year, Art World"
38March, 1999Karen Finley
39May, 1999Sue Coe
40Summer, 1999MASS MOCA's Joe Thompson
41September, 1999Steve Hurd
42November, 1999Barbara Kruger
43December, 1999Lynn Foulkes
44March, 2000Yolande Macias Mckay
45May, 2000Matthew Barney
46Summer, 2000Lars Nittve
47September, 2000Robert Smithson
48November, 2000Rick Robinson
49January, 2001Paul McCarthy
50March, 2001Sandow Birk
51May, 2001Roberta Smith
52Summer, 2001Larry Clark
53September, 2001Dave Hickey
54November, 2001"9/11: Is Art Dead?"
55February, 2002Carlee Fernandez
56April, 2002Daniel J. Martinez
57June, 2002Julian Schnabel
58September, 2002Richard Ankrom
59November, 2002"Iraqi Art"
60December, 2002"Les Damoiselles D' Washington"
61March, 2003Cecily Brown
62May, 2003Matthew Barney/Björk
63July, 2003"How To Resuscitate Your Art Career"
64September, 2003Frank Gehry
65November, 2003Ad Reinhardt
66January, 2004Michael Jackson
67March, 2004Viggo Mortenson
68May, 2004Thomas Kinkade
69August, 2004Nancy Reagan
70October, 2004Gary Baseman
71December, 2004Christian Ristow
72February, 2005Ed Ruscha
73March, 2005Chris Burden
74May, 2005Shag
75July, 2005Buster Friendly
76September, 2005The Art Of Podcasting
77November, 2005Liz McGrath
78February, 2006John Waters
79April, 2006Richard Tuttle
80June, 2006Lauren Bon
81August, 2006Kent Twitchell
82September, 2006The Art Of Poker
83November, 2006Bansky
84February, 2007Leonard Nimoy
85April, 2007Art & Celebrities
86June, 2007Mark Ryden
87August, 2007The Art Of Money
88October, 2007Chinatown: 10 year Anniversary
89December, 2007Ron English
90February, 20088 Artists Under 28
91March, 2008Scoli Acosta
92May, 2008David Trulli
93September 2008Kent Twitchell Legal Victory
94October 2008Bernini at the Getty
95December 2008Obama Wins
96February 2009Asad Faulwell
97April 2009Dan Graham
98June 2009Finishing School
99August 2009Clayton Brothers
100November 2009History of Coagula
101January 2010Dawn Kasper