John Chamberlain (1927–2011) was a pivotal American sculptor best known for transforming industrial metal—most famously automobile parts—into vivid, energetic abstractions. Blurring the boundaries between sculpture and painting, gesture and structure, his work infused raw material with emotional and formal complexity. Often aligned with Abstract Expressionism in spirit and Pop Art in palette, Chamberlain created a language entirely his own—one that celebrated chaos, compression, and the lyricism of wreckage.

John Chamberlain’s Popsicletoes (2007) twists industrial detritus into vivid, sculptural. Turning crushed steel into color, gesture, and velocity. Composed of painted, chromed stainless steel, this late work exemplifies Chamberlain’s enduring belief that sculpture should feel improvised, physical, and alive.

Candy colored hues glint off contorted steel, making the material appear to ripple and bloom like metal in motion, or flowers in a garden. The title is playful and sensual, suggesting a lyricism that softens the sculpture’s structural force.

Exhibited at PaceWildenstein in 2008 and featured in key publications, Popsicletoes stands as a luminous statement from a master of postwar American sculpture. Chamberlain’s works are held in MoMA, Tate Modern, the Guggenheim, and Centre Pompidou.

Provenance
PaceWildenstein, New York (acquired directly from the artist)
Private Collection
Phillips Auctioneers Ltd., NY, 12th May 2011
Private Collection, Europe

Exhibitions
New York, PaceWildenstein, John Chamberlain: Recent Work, 14 February – 15 March
2008

Literature/Press
D. Kunitz, "John Chamberlain’s Heavy Metal", The New York Sun, 21st February 2008, illustrated on p. 20
P. Tuchman, "Reviews–John Chamberlain", Art in America, November 2008, illustrated on p. 19