An exhibition of work from three major American sculptors: John Chamberlain (1927–2011), Dan Flavin (1933–1996) and Robert Indiana (b.1928). Individually, they have each made a notable contribution to the development of sculpture in the twentieth century. Their parallels lie in the conscious use of found objects from an industrialised America, reflecting economics, consumerism and mechanisation. The three sculptors embraced these aspects of American society and revolutionised the concept of sculpture and sculpture-making.
John Chamberlain began to construct sculpture from scrap car parts in the early 1950s. He referred to these inexpensive and readily available materials as ‘chosen’ rather than ‘found’, selected for their particular look or fit as though the material in itself dictated the final form.
Dan Flavin similarly incorporated industrial colours and materials in his work through the use of standardised fluorescent light bulbs. His light sculptures were prescribed by manufactured bulb colour and length, which allowed for a non-hierarchical arrangement of parts.
In the late 1950s, Robert Indiana began making sculpture from discarded wooden beams salvaged from buildings being demolished around his New York studio at the Coenties Slip. He modified these works in the following years, attaching discarded wheels and integrating text and numbers using found stencils for commercial packing, influenced by advertising and typography of new American consumerism.
| Duration | 05 May 2017 - 01 July 2017 |
| Times | Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm Saturday, 10am to 4pm |
| Cost | Free |
| Venue | Waddington Custot Galleries |
| Address | 11 Cork Street, London, W1S 3LT |
| Contact | / mail@waddingtoncustot.com / www.waddingtoncustot.com |