{{Short description|American painter and sculptor}} {{Infobox artist | name = Dan Colen | caption = | birth_name = Daniel Colen | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1979}} | birth_place = Leonia, New Jersey, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | field = Painting | movement = | works = | patrons = | influenced by = | influenced = | awards = | education = | alma_mater = Rhode Island School of Design }}
'''Daniel Colen''' (born 1979) is an American artist based in New York. His work consists of painted sculptures appropriating low-cultural ephemera, graffiti-inspired paintings of text executed in paint, and installations.
==Early life and education== Born in 1979 and raised in Leonia, New Jersey.<ref>Haramis, Nick. [http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/everything-and-nothing-dan-colen-reveals-there-are-two-sides-to-every-story/22662 "Everything & Nothing: Dan Colen Reveals There Are Two Sides to Every Story"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223082217/http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/everything-and-nothing-dan-colen-reveals-there-are-two-sides-to-every-story/22662 |date=2010-12-23 }}, ''BlackBook (magazine)'', October 1, 2010. Accessed March 31, 2011."The 31-year-old artist was born in Leonia, New Jersey, where, as a teenager, he befriended photographer Ryan McGinley at their local skate park."</ref><ref name="whitney">{{Cite web |title=Dan Colen |url=https://whitney.org/artists/10219 |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=whitney.org |language=en}}</ref> His father, Sy Colen, a wood and clay sculptor, was a participant in the 2006 reality TV show ''Artstar''. Colen attended Solomon Schechter Day School, and was raised Jewish.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Fischel|first=Jack R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wpFxDwAAQBAJ|title=Encyclopedia of Jewish American Popular Culture|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2008|isbn=9780313087349|pages=68–69}}</ref> Colen graduated with a B.F.A. in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2001.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://issuu.com/risd/docs/risdxyz_winter2018_final_1-3-18_web|title=Afterparty|date=Winter 2018|work=RISD XYZ Magazine|access-date=2018-02-25|publisher=Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)|location=issuu|page=13|language=en}}</ref> After graduation he moved to the East Village in Manhattan, and by June 2006 he became a recognised artist.<ref name=":2" />
==Work== In his work, ''Secrets and Cymbals, Smoke and Scissors: My Friend Dash's Wall in the Future'' (2004), Colen built an exact replica of a section of poster, photo and flyer-covered wall from friend Dash Snow's apartment.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/prospero/2014/05/21/something-to-chew-on|title=Something to chew on|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=2020-03-07|issn=0013-0613}}</ref> Each piece of visual material was handmade and attached to a Styrofoam copy of the wall.
In 2007, Dash Snow and Colen shredded phone books in Jeffrey Deitch's SoHo gallery for an installation called ''Nest'' or ''Hamster Nest''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/art/dan-colen|title=Dan Colen|date=2010-08-17|work=Interview Magazine|access-date=2017-11-25|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/nyregion/26dash.html|title=Death and Life of Dash Snow, Artist, Addict and Provocateur|last1=Feuer|first1=Alan|date=2009-07-24|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-11-25|last2=Salkin|first2=Allen|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> He was described by ''The Guardian'' as a "bad boy of post-pop New York".<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/may/09/dan-colen-new-york-art|title=Dan Colen: how the bad boy of New York art discovered the good life|last=Helmore|first=Edward|date=2014-05-09|work=The Guardian|access-date=2017-11-25|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
==Personal life== Colen was close friends with artists Dash Snow and Ryan McGinley.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://nymag.com/arts/art/profiles/26288/index1.html|title=Chasing Dash Snow|website=NYMag.com|date=4 January 2007 |access-date=2017-11-25}}</ref> When Snow died in 2009 of a heroin overdose, Colen was greatly impacted and said he was determined to end his own addiction.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
==Exhibitions== *''Potty Mouth, Potty War, Pot Roast, Pot is a Reality Kick'', Gagosian Gallery, New York, 2006<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-09-02 |title=Dan Colen: Potty Mouth Potty War, 555 West 24th Street, New York, March 11–April 15, 2006 |url=https://gagosian.com/exhibitions/2006/dan-colen-potty-mouth-potty-war/ |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=Gagosian |language=en}}</ref> *''USA Today - new American Art from the Saatchi Collection'', Royal Academy of Arts, London{{cn|date=January 2025}} *Whitney Biennial, New York, 2006<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/mccormick/mccormick2-21-06.asp |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=Artnet|title=WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN THE WHITNEY BIENNIAL|first1=Carlo|last1=McCormick|authorlink=Carlo McCormick}}</ref> *''Fantastic Politics'', National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo{{cn|date=January 2025}} *''No Me'', Peres Projects, Berlin, 2006. Solo exhibition.<ref>{{Cite web |title=No Me |url=https://peresprojects.com/exhibitions/173-no-me-dan-colen/ |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=Peres Projects |language=en}}</ref> *''Dan Colen – Works from the Astrup Fearnley Collection'', Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, Norway, 2018. Solo exhibition.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dan Colen - Works from the Astrup Fearnley Collection |url=https://www.afmuseet.no/en/exhibitions/dan-colen-works-from-the-astrup-fearnley-collection/ |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=Astrup Fearnley Museet |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Collections== Colen's work is held in the following collections: *Saatchi Gallery<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.saatchigallery.com/artist/dan_colen|title=Dan Colen - Artist - Saatchi Gallery|website=www.saatchigallery.com|date=3 February 2023 }}</ref> *Whitney Museum of American Art<ref name="whitney"/> *Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dan Colen - Works from the Astrup Fearnley Collection |url=https://www.afmuseet.no/en/exhibitions/dan-colen-works-from-the-astrup-fearnley-collection/ |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=Astrup Fearnley Museet |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== *{{commons category-inline}} *[https://artfacts.net/artist/dan-colen/60522 Dan Colen on ArtFacts.Net] *[https://gagosian.com/artists/dan-colen/ Colen at Gagosian Gallery]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Colen, Dan}} Category:1979 births Category:Sculptors from New York (state) Category:21st-century American painters Category:21st-century American male artists Category:21st-century American sculptors Category:American male sculptors Category:Living people Category:Artists from Leonia, New Jersey Category:Rhode Island School of Design alumni Category:20th-century American sculptors Category:20th-century American painters Category:American male painters Category:20th-century American male artists