Mermaidmischief 2009

John Chamberlain's green 'Mermaidmischief' is a whole other ball game to painting, but it still has a lot to teach us. I can almost see Chamberlain in his studio, wrestling with these twisted metal forms. It's like he's not just shaping metal but also shaping space itself. The green is so bright that it almost looks wet, like it's been pulled straight from the sea. The way the metal is crushed and folded gives it a kind of raw energy. It's not about perfection, but about finding beauty in the imperfect, in the discarded. There's a real conversation happening here, an echo of the kind of dialogue artists have been having for years. It is not painting exactly, but I think these metal gestures are totally inspiring and make you realize how many ways there are to express yourself and make something new.