This spring, Gagosian Gallery is celebrating their worldwide representation of John Chamberlain. John Chamberlain: New Sculpture, is on view at Gagosian’s gallery spaces in both New York (555 West 24th St) from May 5 to July 8, and London (6-24 Britannia St) , from May 20 to June 18.
Working since the late 1950’s, John Chamberlain gained notoriety when he began creating sculptures from abandoned automotive parts and industrial material. Chamberlain allows the form of the destroyed material to inform how he will pursue the construction of his pieces, endowing an organic quality to the undeniably inorganic material he works with. These efforts resulted in his inclusion in the seminal 1961 MoMA exhibit, “The Art of Assemblage”. His unprecedented work has been extremely influential in pioneering the incorporation of discarded material in sculpture. His pieces have since paved the way for a new generation of artists who find art in the abandoned.
With more than a hundred shows over his career, New Sculpture is Chamberlain’s study of the death throes of the American dream of the 1950’s. By incorporating destroyed parts of mid-century American cars, Chamberlain demonstrates how the always alluring call of the open road and its endless possibilities are dwindling in an age of technological interconnectedness.