The first exhibitions of Coleman's paintings were held at Lower East Side and Soho art galleries, "Wooster", "Chronocide", "Limbo" and "Civilian Warfare", in 1986 and 1987. Chronocide's Bob Behrens would become Coleman's first dealer. Victoria and Albert Museum curator David Owsley, whom Coleman had met after picking him up his cab, bought a piece from one of his shows at Chronicide and hung it next to a Breughel in his collection. Owsley would also introduce Coleman to Mickey Cartin, who became the biggest collector of his work and convinced him to stop driving a cab and devote himself to painting full-time. In the late ’80s and early ‘90s, Coleman had solo shows at Psychedelic Solution in Greenwich Village and Billy Shire's gallery, La Luz de Jesus, on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. His first European show was held in 1998 at London's The Horse Hospital, formerly a Victorian-era stable to house the sick horses of cab drivers.