Dancing in the Dark #63 1983

John Chamberlain made this sculpture with crushed and painted metal. It's all zing and POW, so bold it's like you can hear it. I imagine him in his studio, wrestling with these hulking pieces, bending and smashing, finding beauty in destruction. What a dance! The different colors, pinks and silvers, clashing with the gold, feel so intuitive, almost accidental. It reminds me a little bit of what Guston was doing around the same time, only with car parts instead of clumsy, cartoonish figures. There’s also a bit of de Kooning in here, that same aggressive energy, slashing and burning. Ultimately, it's so raw and immediate, like a snapshot of pure energy. These artists, they keep the conversation going across time, inspiring each other and messing with our heads in the best way possible.