Living with Chamberlain

John Chamberlain (1927–2011) is renowned for his prolific artistic output and innovative sculptures that defied convention. An enigmatic figure, Chamberlain was a burly “man’s man” who was also deeply sensitive, a husband and father who found abiding love and family life with his last wife and her daughters, and an intellectual ninth-grade dropout who cursed like a sailor (which he also was).

Chamberlain was born in Indiana in 1927 and joined the Navy at just sixteen. After World War II, he worked as a hairdresser and makeup artist in Chicago while briefly attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Following a dispute with his professors, Chamberlain left the SAIC for the more welcoming environs of Black Mountain College, in North Carolina, an environment that also fostered the talents of Robert Rauschenberg and Cy Twombly. In 1956, Chamberlain moved to New York, where he began experimenting with abandoned automobile parts—an artistic breakthrough that led him to his signature medium of metal. His fearless integration of vibrant color into sculpture and use of discarded industrial materials challenged notions of form and materiality, catalyzing a transformative shift in contemporary art.

With works ranging from monochrome to multicolored, from handheld size to tabletop to monumental, Chamberlain’s works are designed not simply for display but for dynamic interaction—encouraging viewers to live with his art, to juxtapose it against other works, and to appreciate it from every angle of everyday life. Living With Chamberlain offers a multifaceted perspective on what it truly means to share space with Chamberlain and his creations, revealed through interviews with collectors as well as personal and professional contacts of the late artist.

Featuring a foreword by Rick Owens, and interviews and conversations with family, friends, gallerists, and collectors, this intimate and personal volume uncovers how Chamberlain’s art has impacted the lives of so many, including personalities as diverse as Chamberlain’s wide-ranging artistic expressions. Among the many stories contained, collectors Bruce and Barbara Berger recount how they traded a refrigerator for their Chamberlain sculpture in 1972; Yvonne Force Villareal shares how she met her husband, artist Leo Villareal, at an exhibition of Chamberlain couches; fashion designer Matthew Williams and artist Solange Knowles speak about their separate experiences with Chamberlain’s art and his creative influence on their own work; and fashion designer Vera Wang shares how a chance encounter at MoMA led to an unusual late-life friendship with the artist.

Through direct encounters with the artist, momentous interactions with his iconic sculptures, and the intimacy of living with his work day to day, these voices illuminate the enduring influence and global impact of Chamberlain’s creative vision.

Assouline and the Chamberlain Estate also collaborated to create an exclusive limited edition, presented in a luxury clamshell case adorned with a one-of-a-kind sculptural metal detail fashioned with original material directly sourced from Chamberlain’s studio. Limited to one hundred unique editions, these collector’s pieces provide a rare opportunity to own a tangible fragment of Chamberlain’s artistic legacy.

Contributors include: Amy Astley; Joa Baldinger and Heiner Friedrich; Bruce and Barbara Berger; Darius and Jill Bikoff; Michael Black; David, Lauren and Sean Carpenter; Susan Davidson; Karen, Steven and Zoë Feldman; Urs Fischer; Larry Gagosian; Bob Gersh; Andrea Glimcher; Marc Glimcher; Eric Goodman; Jeff and Judy Greenstein; Karsten Greve; Wilhelm and Jutta Grusdat; Lana Jokel; Rainer Judd; Colin King; Solange Knowles; Bernard and Joanne Kruger; Nancy Magoon; Helen Marden; Robert Mnuchin; Michael Ovitz; James Ramsey; Craig Robins; Samanthe Rubell; Nina Runsdorf; Robert Stilin; Caio Twombly; Yvonne Force Villareal; Vera Wang; Matthew Williams.