1975 - 1977
John Chamberlain, Hard Alee, 1975
1975
January 1-25: Participates in the "Artists Make Toys" exhibition at the Clocktower Gallery in New York. He collaborates with his eldest son, Angus, on a toy design.
February 14-March 17: The Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston presents "John Chamberlain: Recent Sculpture," featuring nine of his Texas Pieces from 1972-1975. The exhibition subsequently travels to the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, where additional sculptures are displayed outdoors.
April 6-29: Showcases his work at the Ronald Greenberg Gallery in St. Louis, displaying sculptures such as "Box Candy," "Dancing Duke," "Double-Hooded Jim," "Hanging Herm," and "Scull's Angel," all created in 1974.
October 3-November 30: Participates in the exhibition "Sculpture: American Directions, 1945-1975" at the National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D.C., featuring his sculpture "Fantail" from 1961.
October 7-November 18: Takes part in the exhibition "Painting, Drawing and Sculpture of the '60s and the '70s from the Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection" at the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, which later travels to the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. The Vogels, with modest incomes, collect a significant collection of Minimal and Conceptual art, including some of Chamberlain's works on paper.
November 13-December 13: Exhibits at the James Corcoran Gallery in Los Angeles, showcasing sculptures like "Blue Flushing," "Daddy-O-Springs," "Hard Alee," "Hors d'Oeuvre," "Mesa Sting," and "Patino Nuevo," all created in 1975.
John Chamberlain, Broke Purple, 1976
1976
January 6-February 15: Participates in the "7 + 5: Sculptors in the 1950s" exhibition at the Art Galleries, University of California, Santa Barbara. This exhibition later travels to the Phoenix Art Museum. Some of Chamberlain's works on display include a small pencil-and-crayon drawing from 1957, as well as sculptures like "Shortstop" (1958), "Swannanoa/Swannanoa II" (1959/74), "Gerard" (1961), and "Untitled" pieces from 1961 and 1962.
March 27-April 17: Exhibits at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York, showcasing six reliefs that lean 45 degrees to the left, with titles like "Chamouda" (1975), "Druid's Cluster (Swish)" (1975), "Clytie II (Only Women Bleed ... for Alice)" (1976), "Rosy Future" (1976), "Stringer" (1976), and "Zane & Corney" (1976).
April 18-May 17: Participates in a two-person exhibition with Cy Twombly at the Locksley/Shea Gallery in Minneapolis. The exhibition includes a range of works, from sculptures like "Whitmore Wash" (1969) and "Char Willie" (1974) to lacquer paintings, foam sculptures, and Plexiglas sculptures.
Summer: Chamberlain embraces his passion for sailing and spends the first of two summers living on his 33-foot sloop named the Cocola (derived from the Italian word "coccola," meaning "little darling"), in the harbor in Essex, Connecticut.
September 7-October 7: Participates in the "Welded Sculpture" exhibition at the Zabriskie Gallery in New York, featuring sculptures like "Manitou" (1959) and "Swannanoa/Swannanoa II" (1959/74).
October 7-December 10: Contributes to the "Visions/Painting and Sculpture: Distinguished Alumni 1945 to the Present" exhibition at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, displaying his "Untitled" piece from 1973.
John Chamberlain, Salanangie, 1977
1977
Chamberlain is awarded a second John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship.
Chamberlain marries Lorraine Belcher in New York, but they later divorce.
May 10-June 18: Participates in the "Jubilation: American Art during the Reign of Elizabeth II" exhibition at The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England, displaying his work "Falconer-Fitten" from 1960.
May 20-June 30: Chamberlain’s drawings are showcased in the exhibition "Drawings by John Chamberlain: 'Views from the Cockpit'" at the Margo Leavin Gallery in Los Angeles.
June 27-August 12: the Mayor Gallery in London hosts "John Chamberlain: An Exhibition of Sculpture, 1959-1962," featuring a collection of his works from that period.
October 1977-September 1978: The Dia Art Foundation arranges the installation of eight of Chamberlain's Texas Pieces on the grounds of the Manhattan Psychiatric Center on Wards Island, New York. This initiative is part of the hospital director's plan to bring life to the facility.
October 8-November 27: Participates in the exhibition "New York: The State of Art" at the New York State Museum in Albany, showcasing his artwork "Untitled" from 1977.
November 12-December 22: John Chamberlain, inaugural exhibition, Heiner Friedrich, 393 West Broadway, New York (Magnesium Revolt, 1977, Son of Dudes, 1977, Toasted Hitlers [from E. J.], 1977, and six reliefs: Broke Purple, 1976, Bentley Last, 1977, Kunststecher, 1977, Piece Pockets, 1977, Rare Meat, 1977, and That You Marty, 1977). The same gallery space becomes the permanent installation site for Walter De Maria's sculpture "The Broken Kilometer" in 1979.