Huzzy

Artist John Chamberlain (American, 1927 - 2011)

Date1961

MediumSteel, paint, and chromium plating with fabric

DimensionsOverall: 54 × 33 × 21 inches (137.16 × 83.82 × 53.34 cm)

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Charles F. Buckwalter in memory of Charles F. Buckwalter

Object numberF64-8

On View

On view

Gallery Location

Collections

Contemporary Art

Terms

Exhibition History

Sculptures of John Chamberlain, The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1964, no cat.

John Chamberlain: A Retrospective Exhibition, Guggenheim Museum, New York, January-February, 1972, no. 28.

Garbage is Beautiful, U.S. Pavilion, Berlin Industries Fair, September 15-24, 1972.

John Chamberlain: Wall Reliefs, 1960-1983, John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL, January 27-March 27, 1983, unnumbered.

John Chamberlain, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, July 30-October 5, 1986.

Crossroads of American Sculpture, Indianapolis Museum of Art, October 14, 2000-January 21, 2001, hors cat.

Gallery Label

John Chamberlain was one of the first artists to successfully translate the sensibilities of American Abstract Expressionist painting into sculpture. In an almost painterly fashion, Chamberlain bends, crushes, arranges and then welds together discarded parts from wrecked automobiles, transforming the rawness of found materials into compositions of fluidity and grace. In Huzzy, Chamberlain creates a gestural energy through curved planes, intersecting angles and the incorporation of color. He adds variation in texture and subtle commentary through the incorporation of real female undergarments. The use of clothing and automobile parts links Chamberlain’s art to popular culture.

Provenance

With Leo Castelli, Inc., New York;

Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Buckwalter by 1964;

Their gift to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1964.

Published References

Donald Judd, “Chamberlain: Another View” Art International, VII/10 (January 16, 1964): 39.

Donald Judd, “Kansas City Report” Arts (December 1963): 26.

Pierre Restany, “The New Realism” Art in America, (February 1963): 104.

Ross E. McKenna and George L. Taggart, Handbook: Nelson Gallery of Art, Atkins Museum, Vol. 1 (Kansas City: William Nelson Trust, 1973), 213, (repro.).

Michael Auping, John Chamberlain: Reliefs 1960-1982, exh. cat. (Sarasota: The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 1983), 23, (repro.).

Julie Sylvester, John Chamberlain: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Sculpture, 1954-1985 (Manchester: Hudson Hills Press, 1986), 76, (repro.).

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