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The Arts Intel Report

Dan Colen: Lover, Lover, Lover

Dan Colen, Mother (Bedroom), 2021–22.

Sept 7 – Oct 22, 2022
980 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10075

There’s something about old-school Disney animation. The pillowy curves. The beatific light. The pastel colors shadowed by deep saturation. The collective dreams and corporate control. In “Lover, Lover, Lover,” Dan Colen appropriates imagery from two classics—Lady and the Tramp (1955) and Pinocchio (1940)—in the format of oil on canvas. The paintings are large and surprisingly haunting. In the “Mother” series, Staircase (1922) suggests Hitchcock. And in the same series, the black trees and empty streets of Intersection (2021-22) suggest Robert Frost’s existential ode “Acquainted with the Night.” —Laura Jacobs

Photo courtesy of Gagosian