Chuck Close 1940 - 2021
August 20, 2021 12:05 PM Subscribe
Photorealist painter and printer Chuck Close died yesterday at the age of 81. One of the most prominent of the photorealistic painters of the late 60s and early 70s, Close painted immense, highly detailed canvas portraits from photos he would take of himself, his friends and acquaintances, such as Philip Glass. This career of portraiture has been ascribed to his having face blindness. A restless experimenter in techniques, before the end of the 70s he had exhibited work done in rubber stamps, silk tapestry, airbrush, mezzotint, and other media -- his website has a fascinating illustrated timeline of this range.
In the late 1980s, he suffered a seizure that left him paralyzed from the neck down and requiring physical assistance for the rest of his life. He resumed painting with a brush strapped to one hand. Before the seizure he had already been experimenting with more painterly, less precise techniques (such as Lucas (1986-87)), and afterwards he continued exploring with looser, more pixilated paintings and prints, as well as working in media such as daguerotype.
In the 2000s he was accused multiple times of sexual harassment (archive.org copy). He did not deny many of the incidents and publicly apologized for his behavior, and circumstances led to the cancelling of at least one major exhibition.
In the late 1980s, he suffered a seizure that left him paralyzed from the neck down and requiring physical assistance for the rest of his life. He resumed painting with a brush strapped to one hand. Before the seizure he had already been experimenting with more painterly, less precise techniques (such as Lucas (1986-87)), and afterwards he continued exploring with looser, more pixilated paintings and prints, as well as working in media such as daguerotype.
In the 2000s he was accused multiple times of sexual harassment (archive.org copy). He did not deny many of the incidents and publicly apologized for his behavior, and circumstances led to the cancelling of at least one major exhibition.
An incredible artist, ever moving forward into new territory, or deeper into the past, but always unmistakably him.
I was lucky to see him once, by pure chance, at the Albright-Knox as he was visiting his own retrospective. One of those moments of cosmic coincidence where all you can do is stand agog.
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:36 PM on August 20, 2021
I was lucky to see him once, by pure chance, at the Albright-Knox as he was visiting his own retrospective. One of those moments of cosmic coincidence where all you can do is stand agog.
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:36 PM on August 20, 2021
Chuck Close did Bill Clinton’s presidential portrait, which was quite fitting. (As noted by the Guerilla Girls.)
Beautiful portraits, though - a really nice exhibit at the Nat’l Portrait gallery a few years back.
posted by Going To Maine at 12:36 PM on August 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
Beautiful portraits, though - a really nice exhibit at the Nat’l Portrait gallery a few years back.
posted by Going To Maine at 12:36 PM on August 20, 2021 [2 favorites]
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He also did a Hillary Clinton portrait.
The scale of his work has been one of my favorite things about it. You always end up in a bodily encounter with it.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 12:42 PM on August 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
He also did a Hillary Clinton portrait.
The scale of his work has been one of my favorite things about it. You always end up in a bodily encounter with it.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 12:42 PM on August 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
He also did portraits of Obama. Lovely tapestries.
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:50 PM on August 20, 2021
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:50 PM on August 20, 2021
> Chuck Close did Bill Clinton’s presidential portrait, which was quite fitting. (As noted by the Guerilla Girls.)
That link was badly munged. Is this it?
posted by ardgedee at 1:01 PM on August 20, 2021 [3 favorites]
That link was badly munged. Is this it?
posted by ardgedee at 1:01 PM on August 20, 2021 [3 favorites]
yep, that was it.
posted by Going To Maine at 1:18 PM on August 20, 2021
posted by Going To Maine at 1:18 PM on August 20, 2021
Close’s work really epitomizes the idea that you gotta see the art in-person to appreciate how good it is.
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posted by Thorzdad at 2:08 PM on August 20, 2021 [5 favorites]
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posted by Thorzdad at 2:08 PM on August 20, 2021 [5 favorites]
Didn't someone, also rather well known, make a statue of some sort of Close? I have a vague memory of seeing something like this at some point, either at the MET or MOMA in NYC. Or am I just misremembering?
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 2:20 PM on August 20, 2021
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 2:20 PM on August 20, 2021
I remember, as an art museum guard in the late 70s/early 80s, watching over a Chuck Close exebition and being kind of awed by the monumental blankness of the canvasses and being amazed that anyone would want him to paint their portrait.
...for multiple reasons, I how discover.
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:56 PM on August 20, 2021
...for multiple reasons, I how discover.
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:56 PM on August 20, 2021
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posted by May Kasahara at 3:36 PM on August 20, 2021
posted by May Kasahara at 3:36 PM on August 20, 2021
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posted by UltraMorgnus at 4:30 PM on August 20, 2021
posted by UltraMorgnus at 4:30 PM on August 20, 2021
He was a very good artist, but a man of his times.
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posted by From Bklyn at 12:34 AM on August 21, 2021
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posted by From Bklyn at 12:34 AM on August 21, 2021
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posted by Ickster at 12:24 PM on August 20, 2021 [3 favorites]