Dan Colen
Dan Colen is an American contemporary artist known for his unconventional approach to art, blending pop culture references with personal narratives and experimental materials. Born in 1979 in Leonia, New Jersey, Colen rose to prominence in the mid-2000s as part of the post-pop and downtown New York art scene. He studied at the Rhode Island School of Design, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2001.
Colen's work spans various media, including painting, sculpture, and installation, and often challenges traditional notions of art and beauty. Early in his career, he became known for his hyperrealistic paintings, but his later works incorporated unexpected materials such as chewing gum, confetti, and flowers. One of his most famous series, made from paint applied to canvas using smeared chewing gum, demonstrated his playful yet critical approach to consumerism and the art world.
A frequent collaborator with artists like Dash Snow and Ryan McGinley, Colen was part of a group that captured the raw energy of New York City's downtown youth culture in the early 2000s. Despite his initial association with the chaotic and hedonistic lifestyle of that scene, Colen eventually shifted focus, incorporating deeper spiritual and philosophical themes into his later works.
In 2011, Dan Colen established Sky High Farm, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering social cohesion and community engagement through sustainable agriculture. Located in the Hudson Valley of New York, the farm focuses on providing fresh, organic produce and offers educational programs on farming and healthy living, while also serving as a community space for local events and activities.
The farm aims to support underserved populations by offering educational programs and workshops on farming and healthy living, as well as providing employment opportunities. It also serves as a venue for community events and activities, fostering a sense of connection among participants. Sky High Farm reflects Colen's commitment to social responsibility and his interest in creating meaningful, positive impact through his work outside the art world.
His artistic evolution, from irreverent provocateur to socially engaged creator, has cemented his status as a significant figure in contemporary American art. Colen's work has been exhibited globally, including at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Gagosian Gallery, and the New Museum. His ability to transcend artistic genres and push boundaries continues to influence the art world.
Dan Colen: blurring boundaries between high art and everyday materials
In his early pieces, Dan Colen meticulously crafted detailed oil paintings of mundane spaces - like a messy bathroom, a teenager's room, or a camping tent - while blending in mystical elements, such as the Blue Fairy, Jesus Christ, angels, and his late grandfather. Later, his "Candle" series (2003–10) drew influence from "Pinocchio" (1940), focusing on the transformation of art materials into something "alive." The canvas, symbolizing Geppetto’s workshop, mirrored the magical moment when Pinocchio becomes real, illustrated by the fading smoke of an extinguished candle.
Colen’s practice spans multiple styles and subjects, engaging with the physical properties of materials and the process of mark-making. His works often fluctuate between precise craftsmanship and randomness, combining traditional oil on canvas with unconventional materials like chewing gum, flowers, and garbage. Colen also creates sculptures and time-based performances, exploring the interplay between pop culture imagery and the materials that shape them.
In 2006, Colen began experimenting with abstraction in his chewing gum "paintings," where the gum's texture dictated the form. This marked his shift toward using nontraditional materials, which he would later expand to include confetti, steel studs, and other found objects. His graffiti-inspired "Board Paintings" (2003–17) and "Birdshit" series (2006–16) further highlighted his fascination with mimicking accidental or abject substances using conventional techniques.
Among his best-known works are his gum and trash paintings, where Colen reinterprets arte povera principles by integrating urban detritus like chewing gum and bird droppings. "Pop My Cherry!" (2010) exemplifies this, presenting a canvas densely packed with chewed gum, evoking a mix of repulsion and intrigue.
In his piece "Secrets and Cymbals, Smoke and Scissors: My Friend Dash’s Wall in the Future" (2004), Colen recreated a section of his friend Dash Snow’s apartment wall, painstakingly replicating every poster and flyer. By 2010, Colen returned to figurative painting with his "Miracle" series (2010–18), drawing inspiration from Disney’s Fantasia (1940). These works explored the properties of oil paint, employing techniques like splashes and smears to reflect the mystical themes of the films.
Colen’s "Desert" paintings (2015–19) continued this exploration, using imagery from Looney Tunes to comment on the line between illusion and reality. His "HELP" series (2019–20) further delved into the symbolic power of paint. More recently, Colen has manipulated gum into a thick paste for works like "All Mops and Brooms and Marbles in My Mouth" (2015), blending action painting with a pop art sensibility.
His "Trash" series, including works like "Oh Madonna!" and "Mama Mia!" (2016), draws from Raphael’s Madonna and Child paintings. Viewed from afar, these pieces resemble Renaissance compositions, but up close, they reveal layers of oil paint, discarded items, and imprints from street debris, juxtaposing classical art with urban waste. "Haiku" (2015-17), a life-size sculpture of Scooby-Doo, and "The Long Count (Sisco)" (2017), a disoriented depiction of the character surrounded by beer bottles, explore the overlap of figuration, humor, and conceptual complexity. Through his work, Colen continues to challenge distinctions between high and low culture, agency in art, and the role of medium in contemporary practice.
Major exhibitions and collections
Dan Colen's artwork has been showcased at various renowned galleries, including Deitch Projects, Gagosian Gallery, and Gladstone Gallery in New York, as well as Peres Projects in Berlin, and Venus and OHWOW in Los Angeles. His international exhibitions have featured prominently, such as “Potty Mouth, Potty War, Pot Roast, Pot is a Reality Kick” at Gagosian Gallery, “USA Today” at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, the 2006 Whitney Biennial, “Fantastic Politics” at the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo, and “No Me” at Peres Projects in Berlin. In 2011, Colen held a solo exhibition at the Astrup Fearnley Museum in Oslo, Norway.
Some of his significant exhibitions include "Help!" (2014) at the Brant Foundation in Connecticut, which offered a retrospective of his key works, including his chewing gum, bird droppings, and candle paintings. Another notable show, "Miracle Paintings" (2014) at Gagosian, continued his exploration of art's origins—whether it stems from the artist or independent forces. "Sweet Liberty" (2017) at Newport Street Gallery in London was Colen's first major UK solo exhibition, displaying over 30 works spanning different phases of his career.
His art is part of collections at prestigious institutions such as the Saatchi Gallery, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art.
Selena Mattei
