John Chamberlain

"I think of my art materials not as junk but as garbage. Manure, actually: it goes from being the waste material of one being to the life-source of another."

John Chamberlain (1927 - 2011) was a quintessentially American artist, channeling the innovative power of the postwar years into a relentlessly inventive practice spanning six decades. He first achieved renown for sculptures made in the late 1950s through 1960s from automobile parts - these were path-breaking works that effectively transformed the gestural energy of Abstract Expressionist painting into three dimensions. Ranging in scale from miniature to monumental, Chamberlain's compositions of twisted, crushed, and forged metal also bridged the divide between Process Art and Minimalism, drawing tenets of both into a new kinship. These singular works established him as one of the first American artists to determine color as a natural component of abstract sculpture. From the late 1960s until the end of his life, Chamberlain harnessed the expressive potential of an astonishing array of materials, which varied from Plexiglas, resin, and paint, to foam, aluminum foil, and paper bags.

 

Chamberlain has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions, including two major Retrospectives at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York NY in 2012 and 1971; 'John Chamberlain, Squeezed and Tied. Foam and Paper Sculptures 1969-70,' Dan Flavin Art Institute, Dia Center for the Arts, Bridgehampton NY (2007); 'John Chamberlain. Foam Sculptures 1966-1981, Photographs 1989-2004,' Chinati Foundation, Marfa TX (2005); 'John Chamberlain. Current Work and Fond Memories, Sculptures and Photographs 1967-1995,' Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands (Traveling Exhibition) (1996); and 'John Chamberlain. Sculpture, 1954-1985,' Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles CA (1986). Chamberlain's sculptures are part of permanent exhibitions at the Chinati Foundation in Marfa TX and at Dia:Beacon in upstate New York. In 1964, Chamberlain represented the United States in the American Pavilion at the 32nd International Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. He received many awards during his life, including a Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa, from the College for Creative Studies, Detroit (2010); the Distinction in Sculpture Honor from the Sculpture Center, New York (1999); the Gold Medal from The National Arts Club Award, New York (1997); the Lifetime Achievement Award in Contemporary Sculpture by the International Sculpture Center, Washington D.C. (1993); and the Skowhegan Medal for Sculpture, New York NY (1993).