Artist Presentation...

Chuck Close

Chuck Close was born July 5, 1940. Throughout his childhood, he struggled with major learning disabilities throughout school. Eventually he ended up at the University of Washington and then Yale for his MFA. Close used Superealism to create mural sized portraits of family, friends, and fellow artists. He worked meticulously from photographs using a grid and coping the image square by square. He has used tools such as the airbrush, rag, razor blade, and an eraser mounted on a power drill.

In 1988, Close was supposed to give a speech at an art award ceremony. Before the speech however, he fell ill and was rushed to the hospital. His spinal artery had collapsed and a few hours later he was paralyzed. Recovery was a long process but with the encouragement form his wife and friends he began painting by holding a brush between his teeth. Close began creating mini-portraits in grid squares that someone else had drawn for him.

Before his spinal cord collapsed, he began experimenting with his grid system beginning to paint more abstractly. Today Chuck Close continues to paint his famous heads, as he refers to them, with a brush tapped to his hand. From far away the squares appeared to be a single unit but when close up one can see circles and squares with colors like green, blue, and purple that are not apparent when far away. His work has a sense of grandeur and viewing Chuck Close’s work is definitely two different experiences.  

I am drawn to Chuck Close’s work not only because of how he applies paint in sections and pieces but also because he is a testament to overcoming obstacles, an idea that I am also very drawn to. Also like me, Close struggled with learning disabilities throughout school, proving that everyone can find their place where they exile.

Close’s work is easy to relate to because the portraits are clearly of people that are important to him. I want to work with this idea of personal work as well as how little pieces can make up a whole big image. I think the reason why I am attracted to his work  is the same reason I am attracted to brush strokes and texture in especially in French Impressionism and mosaics.