John Chamberlain

John Angus Chamberlain served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Black Mountain College. In the late 1950s, he began using crushed automobile fenders and hoods to construct sculptures.

Chamberlain's work fused the energetic gestures of Willem de Kooning's action painting with industrial scrap metal, exploiting the factory lacquer colors of vintage cars. His sculptures were acquired by the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, and the Dia Art Foundation in Beacon, New York, which houses an extensive permanent collection.