Roundabout
Artist
James Chatelain
(American, born 1947)
Date1975
MediumOil, pencil on wood, found object
Dimensions15 × 54 × 22 in. (38.1 × 137.2 × 55.9 cm)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineGift of James Pearson Duffy, 2008
Object numberUAC3580
DescriptionOne of the most prodigious of the Cass Corridor group, Jim Chatelain moved freely between subject and medium, forging an intellectually rich brand of expressionsim that is as uniquely Detroit as it is his own. The untilted, mid-Cass Corridor-era sculpture, constructed of found and shaped wood, painted and drawn upon, scraped and sanded, equally suggests structure and movement, a sense of ground and flight, and an overall harmony between such contradictions.Chatelain moved to Detroit to attend Wayne State University (BFA 1971) and quickly found a place amongst the burgeoning Cooridor group. He arrived at the right time to be pulled into the formation of the Willis Gallery, a cooperative gallery that provided a home for these young Detroit artists whose work was largely ignored by the existing local galleries. In 1984 Chatelain moved to New York City, where he lived and worked for six years before returnign to his family's hometown of Findlay, Ohio. He now lives in Ferndale, Michigan where he continues to produce and show work.
