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.
