A Slip of the Tongue, 2010

"Chewing gum looked so much better than paint." Dan Colen

A Slip of the Tongue, by American artist Dan Colen, draws inspiration from both the imaginary and real spaces of teenage subcuture. It is aquintessentlal example of his
'gum paintings', a series ofworks that the artist "fell in love with immediately"(Dan Colen, in an interview with Amy Kellner, 'Suck in This', Vice, 2008) Using chewing gum like paint, Colen mixes flavours – drawn from a long list of varieties organized by brand and taste in his studio – to achieve new colours. The result is a dynamic painting which evokes gum-encrusted sites, from the underside of desks to California’s grotto-like tourist landmark Bubblegum Alley. It also recalls abstraction and neo-expressionism, negating formalism in a profoundly contemporary way.

The present lot is one of Colen's maturepieces, which the artist says are created by "a more elaborate and involved process". Colen recalls their evolution:"Istarted adding alot more gum to each canvas; I would put pieces down, pick them up again, move'em around, stretcht hem out, mush'em together" (Dan Colen, 'Suck on This', Vice, 2008). The broad strokes and larger scale indicate another evolution in Colen's process, when he began boiling the gum to achieve greater fluidity and freedom with the medium.

Colen's choice of chewing gum as a malleable and gestural medium exposes "a history, not one I necessarily know, but a history for sure. There is an infinity in 'real world objects' that, no matter how much I try, I couldn't paint or sculpt into being'' (Dan Colen,Trash, Gagosian Gallery, 2011). The three-dimensional surface and freely orchestrated strokes reveal a dextrous touch typical of graffiti, another motif intrinsic to Colen's ceuvre. In his skilled hands the humble chewing gum becomes not just material, but tangible evidence of memory and existence.