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The Arts Intel Report

John Chamberlain: Reclaimed

John Chamberlain, Galileopogee, 2009.

Apr 1 – May 21, 2022
Limmatstrasse 270, 8005 Zürich, Switzerland

The renowned American sculptor John Chamberlain, who died in 2011 at age 84, created “crushed” sculptures out of metal from old automobiles. His career began with carving and modeling, but in 1957, when he was staying in Southampton at the summer house of Larry Rivers, he started messing around with scrap car parts and created a striking sculpture called Shortstop. Chamberlain went on to work in other materials, but he always returned to metal. In this exhibition, five mature Chamberlain sculptures are on view, works forged from the bodies of midcentury cars. Think Cadillac, Ford, Buick, and Chevrolet. —Elena Clavarino

Photo: Thomas Barratt/© 2022 Fairweather & Fairweather LTD/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/Courtesy the estate and Hauser & Wirth