Dan Colen - Under the Influence New York Friday, March 8, 2013 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Peres Projects, Los Angeles
    Acquired from the above by the present owner

  • Catalogue Essay

    The inspiration for my series of gum paintings first came to me when I was working on my papier-mâché boulders… So the boulders are all covered in spray paint and bird shit and chewed-up gum. I was using little pieces of acrylic medium to mimic real gum, and to help me figure out how to make it look realistic I would stick gum to pieces of foamcore to copy from. One day I looked at the foamcore and was like, oh, hey, that looks awesome. So I started making canvases of just the gum.

    DAN COLEN (A. Kellner, “SUCK ON THIS, Dan Colen Chews Our Ears Off About His Gum Paintings (Get it?),” Vice, 2008).


    The present lot, This Painting Will Fit Over Your Sofa, 2006, comprised of chewing gum on canvas, depicts the idiosyncrasies and playful brashness of Dan Colen’s artistic genius. Through his series of chewing gum paintings, Colen investigates themes of randomness and accidental moments through a cleverly original approach, basing these gestures on prosaic and everyday objects. Through years or trial and error and much practice, Colen’s chewing gum works have evolved from sparse canvases to swirling streaks of colorful gum reminiscent of a famed Jackson Pollock painting evoking intense expression and feeling. Colen is hailed today as a leading force in the contemporary art world, with much credit stemming from these impressive chewing gum paintings.

  • Artist Biography

    Dan Colen

    American • 1979

    American artist Dan Colen has spent most of his career asking himself questions about the editorial decisions artists have to make when creating a scene from scratch on canvas. In his early work, Colen painted mundane interiors punctuated with fantastical elements. This manifested as part of a growing curiosity in the ethereal or divine intervention.

    Colen subsequently stepped away from paint as material and started using found objects as mediums with which to paint. Among these, Colen has used chewing gum, street trash, confetti, feathers, flowers and dirt. This methodology allows Colen to abandon control and create in a more free-form, subconscious manner.

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143

This Painting Will Fit Over Your Sofa

2006
chewing gum on canvas
23 7/8 x 17 7/8 in. (60.6 x 45.4 cm)
Signed and dated "Dan Colen 2006" on the overlap.

Estimate
$70,000 - 90,000 

Under the Influence

8 March 2013
New York