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Untitled

A work made of urethane foam and cord.
© 2018 Fairweather / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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  • A work made of urethane foam and cord.

Date:

1966

Artist:

John Chamberlain
American, 1927–2011

About this artwork

Though he worked in a variety of media, John Chamberlain is best known for abstract sculptures and installations of painted, compressed automotive parts, which he began in the 1950s. Frustrated with misinterpretations of his work as depictions of car wrecks or evocations of violence, Chamberlain departed from his signature motif in 1966. From this point until 1973, he fabricated sculptures almost exclusively from urethane foam. Chamberlain incorporated his distinct style of crushing and wadding as he tied pieces of the foam together with string or cords. Untitled is one of Chamberlain’s early, midsized foam works. Tucked and pulled in all directions, the cut urethane foam is shaped by seemingly invisible cords as it overflows and extends upward and outward. With various curves and bulges, these evocative sculptures are about the material characteristics of foam rubber and what can be done to it: squeezing, cutting, and binding.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Contemporary Art

Artist

John Angus Chamberlain

Title

Untitled

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1966

Medium

Urethane foam and cord

Dimensions

73.7 × 101.6 × 66 cm (29 × 40 × 26 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Susan and Lewis Manilow

Reference Number

2008.707

Copyright

© 2018 Fairweather / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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