WORLD-RENOWNED ARTIST, John Chamberlain, ‘The artist’s artist,’ sparked a revolution in art, reshaping its very definition and potential ―a legacy that drives art, architecture, design, fashion & INNOVATION today.
Living with Chamberlain
On April 16, 1927, John Angus Chamberlain is born to Mary Francis Walker and Claude Chester Chamberlain in Rochester, Indiana. His father is responsible for the family tavern, Chamberlain's, which was originally established in 1921 by the artist's grandfather, Jesse Chamberlain.
Chamberlain makes a hobby of building model airplanes. In 1937, he lives in Rochester, where he attends the fifth and sixth grades. He learns to maintain and eventually fly his father’s 1931 Curtiss-Wright pusher propeller plane and takes his first boat, a kayak he names Sugar, out on Lake Manitou, next to the Fulton County Airport. In the sixth grade, he learns to walk the high wire with his friend Ricci, a member of the Gretona family, famous for their high wire act.
In Chicago, Chamberlain regularly visits the Museum of Science and Industry, which nurtures his interest in aeronautical engineering. At 12, he hears music by Franz Schubert on the radio., and decides at this point to pursue the arts.
He drops out of school in the ninth grade.
Following a disagreement with his professor regarding his interpretation of Indian columns that incorporated nude bodies, Chamberlain departs from the Art Institute. The disagreement and ultimate low grade coined the phrase “it’s all in the fit,” born from the sexual nature of the columns, eventually becoming slogan for his own work.
In 1956, Chamberlain relocates his family to Rockland County, New York, where he establishes a studio within an old barn. He concurrently maintains work as a hairdresser at Jerry’s Beauty Shop- his last job before he attains the ability to sustain a living as an artist..
the Wells Street Gallery hosts Chamberlain's first solo exhibition. Chamberlain transports his welded steel sculptures from New York to Chicago in his car. These early sculptures show the influence of American abstract sculptor David Smith. Chamberlain uses scrap metal, often in rod form, to create spatial drawings.
In the late 1950s, chamberlain takes part in a slew of gallery shows, including the exhibition "Work in Three Dimensions" at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York. The exhibition highlights his piece "Summer Sequence" from 1959.
Donald Judd contributes a review of Chamberlain's Martha Jackson exhibition to Arts Magazine, marking the beginning of Judd's lifelong dedication to Chamberlain's work. Judd's article commences and concludes with these observations:
"Chamberlain's sculpture displays three evident aspects: redundancy, distinct structures, and color. The folded sheet metal sourced from car bodies possesses volume, seeming somewhat unwieldy, and forms an essential shape that falls short of fully utilizing its bulk. The sculptures are grandiloquent, featuring exhaust pipes, rods, and billows of metal—unmistakably tied to junk and evoking ordinary wreckage.
The abundance of material implies an endless supply. "The distinct feature is the use of color. Paint is incorporated into the metal's creases and is fundamentally integral to the artwork. Although colored sculpture has been a subject of exploration, Chamberlain's approach stands apart. While the current use of color may seem inadequate, the potential for exciting prospects is evident. Chamberlain has ample time and opportunity to further uncover these possibilities."
In 1966, Chamberlain receives the first of two John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowships. These fellowships are awarded to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or creative ability in the arts.
During the summer of 1966, he stays at gallerist Virginia Dwan's Malibu beach home, where he begins creating sculptures with urethane foam. This material presents challenges due to its tendency to deteriorate rapidly.
in 1968, chamberlain Spends six weeks at the Rand Corporation through the Art and Technology program, suggesting various unrealized projects and facing challenges in communication.
Chamberlain creates sculptures covered with resin, known as the "Penthouse series," during his stay in a penthouse apartment on East Twenty-Third Street.
in 1975, Chamberlain resides and works on the extensive ranch owned by Stanley Marsh 3, a peculiar supporter of the arts, situated in Amarillo, Texas, for a period of six months. During this time, he initiates his Texas Pieces project, signifying his return to creating artworks with car metal. He also produces the video titled "Toad Hall Gang" (in color, with a duration of 56 minutes and 12 seconds). Throughout the year 1975, Chamberlain intermittently comes back to the 300-acre complex known as Toad Hall. Within this span, he continues crafting a collection of twelve sculptures, informally named after various locations in Texas and New Mexico.
in 1978, Chamberlain purchases and renovates a barn on 9½ acres of land in Essex, Connecticut, to establish a residence and outdoor studio. However, his collection of car metal on the property raises concerns among neighbors and local authorities, leading to zoning issues and a "cease and desist" order. In response, Chamberlain proposes the idea of creating a mural on his property's stone wall to depict a story like Dante's Inferno or Cy Twombly's "Fifty Days at Illium," which he would call "Backing Into Essex." The controversy ultimately leads him to put the property up for sale in November 1980.
In 1980, He moved to Sarasota, Florida, and chose to anchor his boat, the Cocola, at a local marina.
in 1985, Chamberlain begins purchasing van tops at low cost and incorporates them into his sculptures. These van tops are cut into strips, often painted with elaborate patterns, and shaped into tubes or rosettes using various metal-working machinery. This material becomes a prominent feature in his works over the next two decades.
