Don Coen’s life journey to become an influential contemporary artist began at a very early age while growing up on his family farm in Lamar, Colorado. Raised without a television, the young Coen began at the early age of five designing and building his own toys and drawing by kerosene lamps at night around the kitchen table. From those quiet nights until the present, Don’s work has been inspired by his experience working the land with his family and several Latino families that lived and worked alongside Coen throughout his childhood and early adult years. Don’s arduous life on the farm unveiled a deep love and connection to the surreal beauty of the eastern Colorado plains and to the people that worked the land. His ability to see this landscape in its entirety began and continues to result in powerful artworks that capture the landscape, people, and fauna that represent the American plains. Throughout his career, Coen’s work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and recognized by many publications, awards and museums. A powerful statement of universal realization and intense reverence for life is created by Coen’s telling of the forgotten beauty and reality of farm life. Coen’s large-scale paintings are surreal with a remarkably soft focus when viewed at close proximity but become riveting with life when viewed from a distance. Coen’s works continues to evolve and elevate our collective consciousness about our modern agricultural traditions. His work is widely collected throughout the world and part of permanent collections of many prominent museums.
