Dan Colen: High Noon

This book was published on the occasion of Dan Colen: High Noon, an exhibition of Desert Paintings (2015–19) at Gagosian, Beverly Hills. These large-scale paintings are lush yet schematic interpretations of the arid landscapes from Chuck Jones’s animated shorts featuring Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.

The volume also documents two new performances interrogating the conventions of the Hollywood cowboy, At Least They Died Together and Carry On Cowboy (both 2018), which Colen created in collaboration with choreographer Dimitri Chamblas and presented in the gallery with the paintings as backdrop.

An essay by curator Douglas Fogle places the Desert Paintings in dialogue with Waiting for Godot, Barnett Newman’s “zips,” and iconic westerns such as The Searchers, and a conversation between Colen and Chamblas, moderated by Fogle, delves into their collaboration and choreographic process.