Dan Colen
Dan Colen
Daniel Colenis an 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...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionSculptor
Date of Birth3 December 1979
CountryUnited States of America
art class art-class
Art class was my thing, but not any other class.
I used to kind of go for it, right? Like, I'd be the one who would say, 'All right, there's Kate Moss. I'm going to try to make out with her.'
possess
I've always been interested in moments of disbelief... I don't know if they possess any magic, but they do have something.
hope
At the end of the day, you can't have a vision; you have to have a hope. This is where the miracle comes in.
energy far knew love next painting pick scared somebody three
Love is important. I didn't have the energy to be giving it to somebody else in a way that they deserved, and I knew that. So I've always been scared to go too far with somebody I care for because I knew there would come a day when I'd need to pick up and finish a painting for the next three months. That day is inevitable.
believe conceive function hard matter serves work
It's such a weird self-confidence that an artist has - to conceive of this thing that serves no function and say, 'I'm going to really work hard for it and give it and it's just going to matter to people.' You really have to believe it all on your own.
against
It's such a paradox. You come from this place where you want fame; you don't want to be bourgeois, but you want to be successful. You want to be accepted, but you also want to be going against the grain. You want to be on the outside, but you want to be on the inside.
family nature takes
It takes a lot of help - nature, friends, family, craftsmen - for me to make what I make.
believe hard-work self-confidence
Its such a weird self-confidence that an artist has - to conceive of this thing that serves no function and say, Im going to really work hard for it and give it and its just going to matter to people. You really have to believe it all on your own.
spiritual eye thinking
I think that artworks are like these spiritual objects: I think that they have energies and powers beyond what the eye can see.
successful want fame
Its such a paradox. You come from this place where you want fame; you dont want to be bourgeois, but you want to be successful. You want to be accepted, but you also want to be going against the grain. You want to be on the outside, but you want to be on the inside.
miracle vision the-end-of-the-day
At the end of the day, you cant have a vision; you have to have a hope. This is where the miracle comes in.
art thinking lenses
Art is kind of the lens through which I think about God.
ideas trying hard-to-handle
I try very hard to handle things equally: ideas, materials, and images.