John Chamberlain - Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale, Morning Session New York Wednesday, May 15, 2024 | Phillips

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  • Inspired by the wreckage of car parts and junk yards, John Chamberlain’s enigmatic sculptures bring three dimensionality to the flat gestural nature of Abstract Expressionism. In Tonk #8, 1986, Chamberlain uses scraps from an abandoned Tonka Toy factory. Fusing together elements of color and shape, the present work transforms materials into statements that resonate on both a visceral and intellectual level. Works from the Tonk series are held in important museum collections such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

    “There is material to be seen around you every day. But one day something, some one thing, pops out at you and you pick it up and you take it over and you put it somewhere else and it fits, and it’s just the right thing at the right moment.”
    —John Chamberlain

    In the Tonk series, started in the 1980s, Chamberlain creates toy-like and toy-sized works that dance with playful allure, smaller than his usual sculptures but still executed by twisting and shaping metal into abstract forms. The Tonk works are compact and frisky, and their overlapping material painted in industrial colors invites us into a kaleidoscope of vibrant hues and dynamic forms. Many of the Tonks are characterized by a low, horizontal form, which resembles the larger-scale works in the Gondola series from the same decade, those inspired by and resembling a fleet of Venetian gondolas. Here in Tonk #8, Chamberlain utilizes that same elongated form in smaller scale. The title’s reference to a symbol of nostalgic Americana in the Tonka brand harkens back to Chamberlain’s Midwestern roots, the Tonka name having originated in Minnesota. The childish resemblance and title’s connection to a toy, juxtaposed with the harsh nature of discarded and abandoned metal, highlights Chamberlain's play on words.

    • Condition Report

    • Description

      View our Conditions of Sale.

    • Provenance

      Patricia Faure Gallery, Los Angeles
      Acquired from the above by the present owner on December 16, 1998

Property from an Important West Coast Collection

177

Tonk #8

signed and dated "Chamberlain '86" lower left
painted soldered metal
6 3/4 x 31 7/8 x 9 1/2 in. (17.1 x 81 x 24.1 cm)
Executed in 1986.

Full Cataloguing

Estimate
$100,000 - 150,000 

Place Advance Bid
Contact Specialist

Annie Dolan
NY Head of Auctions and Specialist, Head of Sale, Morning Session
212 940 1288
adolan@phillips.com

Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale, Morning Session

New York Auction 15 May 2024