SF MoMA Chamberlains & Bove - Crushed Crumpled and Tired Sculptures

Amer. born artist John Chamberlain (1927-2011) and Swiss born artist Carol Bove (b. 1971) are both sculptors who share many commonalities.  Both sculptors work with metals and found objects and are highly regarded artists whose arts have been shown in top art museums and installed in outdoor public spaces.  The SF MoMA has a gallery that has combined the works of both artists which draw comparisons and yawns.  Chamberlain is best known for his large, colorful sculptures that incorporate scrap metal, galvanized steel; most stemming from the detritus of crashed or crushed autos.  Chamberlain reassembles the metal scraps which are often painted and colorful into abstract expressionist works that resemble what they are - calamitous debris from discarded cars that resemble heaps of scrap metal; just juxtaposed I suppose to engage the viewer to see destruction as construction - tragedy as ingenuity.  Chamberlain's works over his prolific career have at times drawn me into his formidable shapes that soften what could be seen as harsh metals crushed by happenstance together.  Looking in on the exhibit at SF MoMA, I found the large scale works tired, looking like something pulled from a garbage heap of scrap metal.  Bove, brings a fresher, more whimsical approach with her vivid but limited color palette and fewer combined forms creating a more solid, intentional shape. Still, the use of serendipitously found objects (hmm) and crushed and folded forms also feels outmoded and banal.   Perhaps, the sculptures are best suited to outdoor venues as they seemed musty inside MoMA's gallery.