Dan Colen Quotes
Born: September 20, 1979
Dan Colen, a provocateur of the American art scene, emerged from the downtown New York collective that blurred graffiti, performance, and fine art. His legacy is built on a raw, almost violent romanticism—chewing gum on canvas, crushed beer cans, and confetti explosions that capture the sublime chaos of everyday life. Colen’s philosophy rejects polished perfection, insisting that true creativity lies in the mess, the accident, and the fleeting moment. His quotes resonate because they speak to the artist’s struggle for authenticity in a commodified world, offering a gritty gospel of liberation. For creators, Dan Colen is a reminder that the most profound art often comes from the dirt beneath our feet.
Dan Colen Quotes (18)
"It takes a lot of help - nature, friends, family, craftsmen - for me to make what I make."
— Dan Colen"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.'"
— Dan Colen"For all the drama we all have with our families and all the tension and hostility, I couldn't have done this without my family. Being the people that they are - they're crazy - made it possible for me to be crazy and to live a lifestyle of my own design."
— Dan Colen"I try very hard to handle things equally: ideas, materials, and images."
— Dan Colen"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."
— Dan Colen"All of these mechanisms we have for celebrating are so double-edged. So much sorrow comes out of joy."
— Dan Colen"Art class was my thing, but not any other class."
— Dan Colen"I'm trying to equalise the world to say there is no high and low."
— Dan Colen"A lot of my work is about what's abstract and what's pictorial. Is it bubblegum, or is it an abstract painting using bubblegum? The energy comes from walking that line and watching things dip this way and that."
— Dan Colen"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."
— Dan Colen"The different bodies of my work end themselves when there's no more discovery to be had."
— Dan Colen"I think that artworks are like these spiritual objects: I think that they have energies and powers beyond what the eye can see."
— Dan Colen"I've always been interested in moments of disbelief... I don't know if they possess any magic, but they do have something."
— Dan Colen"A lot of my work is about equalizing things and kind of destroying any barrier between what's high and low, or what's deep or what's shallow, complex or simple. I hope I'm ever-changing."
— Dan Colen"A lot of my work involves instilling objects with the power of touch - a transference of soul, spirit, energy through actions."
— Dan Colen"As opposed to putting too much confidence in myself, or in an image or a scene or a set of brushes, I really want to allow the oil paint to perform, to show me the things that it wants to do, beyond my imagination."
— Dan Colen