Dan Colen - 2011 Guggenheim International Gala Contemporary Art Benefit Auction for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation New York Monday, November 7, 2011 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Courtesy of the artist

  • Catalogue Essay

    The true inspiration comes through surprises and accidents. And if I have an idea, and I follow it as exactly as possible and nothing goes wrong, I don’t think I’m going to end up with art. I’m only going to end up with art because I’m open to learning, and I’m open to things that are beyond me. Art is beyond human you know, it’s not something that I know, so I could never really make it on my own. DAN COLEN

    (Dan Colen in conversation with Hanne Beate, Art Talk, in conjunction with the exhibition "peanuts" at Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo. 20 January 2011.)

  • 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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22

Blow-up God (18)

2011
charcoal on paper
20 x 16 in. (50.8 x 40.6 cm)

Estimate
$30,000 - 40,000 

Sold for $30,000

2011 Guggenheim International Gala Contemporary Art Benefit Auction for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation

7 November 2011
New York