Chuck Close
(1940-2021), ArtistArtist of 1 portrait
American artist Chuck Close was renowned for his inventive, large-scale, photo-based portraits. Having studied at the University of Washington (1962) and Yale University School of Art and Architecture (1963-4), he focused on portraiture and the human face from the late 1960s. In 1988 Close was paralysed following a spinal artery collapse, but continued to work using a brush-holder strapped to his wrist and forearm. He made portraits of prominent subjects including Philip Glass, Cindy Sherman, Roy Lichtenstein, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. In 2000, Close was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Clinton. His work is held in many collections across the world including Tate Modern, Centre George Pompidou and Walker Art Center, Minneapolis.
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Patrick Moriarty
19 August 2017, 14:27
Chuck Close's portrait forces you to walk forwards and backwards repeatedly to appreciate his clever technique. If you go too close the image is simply a mass of unidentifiable pixels, similar to a TV screen or computer. The attention to colour to create such a realistic portrait when seen at a distance, is remarkable.