Gagosian Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition that juxtaposes paintings by Joan Mitchell and sculptures by John Chamberlain.

Born just one year apart in the Midwestern United States, Mitchell and Chamberlain were inspired by the muscular spontaneity of Abstract Expressionists such as Franz Kline and Willem De Kooning. Mitchell is considered a principal figure in the second generation of Abstract Expressionists as well as one of the few female exponents. Her lively and impassioned paintings laud the beauty of the natural world. Chamberlain is best known for his metal sculptures constructed from discarded automobile-body parts and other modern metal detritus, where the industrial origin of materials is underscored by a cumulative formal elegance.

Mitchell worked for the most part on large-scale canvases and multiple panels, striving to evince a natural rhythm that emanated from the expansiveness of gesture and from uninhibited use of color; Chamberlain's emphasis on discovered or improvised correlations between material and color rather than a prescribed idea of composition have often prompted descriptions of his work as three-dimensional Abstract Expressionist paintings. The painter and the sculptor share a preference for excess and spontaneity in their art-making. The energetic clustered brushwork of Mitchell's Yves (1991), Untitled (1987-88) and Row Row (1982) perfectly complements Chamberlain's crumpled, crushed, bent, and welded ACEDIDDLEY (2008) GOOSECAKEWALK (2009) and STUFFEDWITHSURPRISE
(2011), in which sweeping, sterling contours suggest an aggregate of brushstrokes.


Joan Mitchell (1925-1992) was born in Chicago and attended Smith College and The Art Institute of Chicago. She moved to France in the late 1950s and in 1967 she settled in Vertheuil, where she lived until her death. Her work is part of numerous public collections including Museum of Modern Art, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Tate Collection, London; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Retrospective surveys include "Joan Mitchell Pastels," Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (1992); "The Paintings of Joan Mitchell," Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2002); and "The Paintings of Joan Mitchell," Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama (2003, travelled to Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas and Phillips Collection, Washington, DC through 2004).

John Chamberlain (1927-2011) was born in Rochester, Indiana. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago (1951-52) and Black Mountain College (1955-56) and moved to New York in 1956. His work is represented in many major public collections including Chinati Foundation, Marfa, Texas; Menil Collection, Houston; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Museum Ludwig, Cologne; and Tate Modern, London. He had his first retrospective at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, in 1971, followed by more than one hundred one-person exhibitions, including Dia Art Foundation (1983); "John Chamberlain: Sculpture, 1954-1985," Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (1986); Staatlich Kunsthalle Baden-Baden (1991); "John Chamberlain: Sculpture," Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (1996); "John Chamberlain: Foam Sculptures (1966-79) and Photographs (1989-2004)," Chinati Foundation, Marfa, Texas (2005-06); and "John Chamberlain: American Tableau," Menil Collection, Houston (2009). His most recent retrospective, "Choices," was held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York in 2012. His work has been included in numerous international survey exhibitions, including Bienal de São Paulo (1961, 1994), Biennale di Venezia (1964), Whitney Biennial (1973, 1987), and Documenta 7 (1982). "Chamberlain at the Fairchild" is on view at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, Florida through April 30, 2013.

Chamberlain died in Manhattan in 2011.


Gagosian Gallery è lieta di annunciare una mostra che pone a confronto dipinti di Joan Mitchell con sculture di John Chamberlain.

Nati ad un solo un anno di distanza nel Midwest degli Stati Uniti, Mitchell e Chamberlain furono entrambi sensibili al gesto potente dell'Espressionismo astratto di Franz Kline e Willem De Kooning. Di questa corrente Mitchell è considerata esponente essenziale, nonchè una delle poche figure femminili. I suoi dipinti vivaci e incandescenti celebrano la bellezza del mondo naturale. Chamberlain è molto noto per le sue sculture di metallo create con carrozzerie di automobili e altri rottami metallici, il cui assemblaggio omette l'origine industriale dei materiali per rivelare un insieme formale ed elegante.

Mentre il lavoro di Mitchell è realizzato principalmente su tele di grandi dimensioni o pannelli multipli, sottolineando così il ritmo naturale che scaturisce dall'ampiezza del gesto e dall'utilizzo disinibito del colore, il punto nodale della ricerca di Chamberlain è stata invece la correlazione tra materia e colore, indagata o scoperta casualmente, senza un'idea concreta dell'esito finale. Per tale modus operandi, l'opera di Chamberlain è spesso definita come la pittura tridimensionale dell'Espressionismo astratto. Nel loro processo creativo, entrambi gli artisti prediligono l'eccesso e la spontaneità. Le pennellate energiche e dense che caratterizzano le opere di Mitchell Yves (1991), Untitled (1987-88) e Row Row (1982), si contrappongono armoniosamente alle sculture piegate ed accartocciate di Chamberlain ACEDIDDLEY (2008), GOOSECAKEWALK (2009), e STUFFEDWITHSURPRISE (2011), i cui contorni ampi e lucenti evocano un insieme di pennellate.

Joan Mitchell (1925-1992) nacque a Chicago e studiò presso Smith College e The Art Institute of Chicago. Si trasferì in Francia alla fine degli anni Cinquanta e nel 1967 si stabilì a Vertheuil, dove visse fino alla sua morte. Le sue opere sono incluse in importanti collezioni museali, tra cui il Museum of Modern Art, New York; il Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; la Tate Collection, Londra; e il San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Tra le importanti retrospettive si annoverano: "Joan Mitchell Pastels", Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (1992); "The Paintings of Joan Mitchell", Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2002); e "The Paintings of Joan Mitchell", Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama (2003, e successivamente presentata presso il Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas e la Phillips Collection, Washington, DC nel 2004).

John Chamberlain (Rochester, Indiana, 1927) studiò presso The Art Institute of Chicago (1951-52) e Black Mountain College (1955-56), e si trasferì a New York nel 1956. Le sue opere sono incluse in importanti collezioni museali, tra cui la Chinati Foundation, Marfa, Texas; la Menil Collection, Houston; il Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; il Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; il Museum Ludwig, Colonia; and la Tate Modern, Londra. Ebbe la sua prima retrospettiva nel 1971 presso il Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, seguita da oltre 100 mostre personali, tra cui quelle presentate presso la Dia Art Foundation (1983); "John Chamberlain: Sculpture, 1954-1985", Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (1986); Staatlich Kunsthalle Baden-Baden (1991); "John Chamberlain: Sculpture", Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (1996); "John Chamberlain: Foam Sculptures (1966-1979) and Photographs (1989-2004)", Chinati Foundation, Marfa, Texas (2005-06); "John Chamberlain: American Tableau", Menil Collection, Houston (2009) e "Choices", Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2012). La sua opera è stata inclusa in numerose manifestazioni internazionali, tra le quali si annoverano Bienal de São Paulo (1961, 1994), Biennale di Venezia (1964), Whitney Biennial (1973, 1987), e Documenta 7 (1982). La mostra "Chamberlain at the Fairchild" è attualmente in corso presso il Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Coral Gables, Florida, fino al 30 aprile 2013.

Chamberlain morì a Manhattan nel 2011.

Ufficio Stampa
Francesca Martinotti
E. martinotti@lagenziarisorse.it
T. +39 06.8069.0694
www.francescamartinotti.com

Per tutte le altre informazioni si prega di contattare la galleria a +39.06.4208.6498 o roma@gagosian.com.