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In a horizontal format, Close holds a black and white photograph of himself, apparently one of many, in front of his face. Visible are both of his hands, the top of his balding head, and his upper torso, informally dressed in a polo shirt. Behind him are two prints in his characteristic pixilated style.
Chuck Close, born in 1940, developed a singular deadpan style using frontal photographs of himself, friends, and celebrities. Close uses a grid system to enlarge the original photograph—sometimes to as much as six feet—and then paints the grid, cell by cell. He also reproduces his images in a variety of printmaking processes, including lithography, woodcut, and even rubber stamps. The method is both laborious and time consuming. Over time the cells have become larger and the resultant image more abstracted.
Close visited Reynolda House on May 7, 1982, and gave an informal talk at ten o’clock in the morning as well as a more formal talk in the evening at eight. Although Mullally was asked to include some reference to Reynolda House in each of her photographs of visiting artists, the one of Close is so focused on his work that specific references to his location are eliminated.
ProvenanceFrom 1993
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by the artist in December 1993. [1]
Notes:
[1] Email from artist, June 13, 2006, object file.
Exhibition History2006
Self/Image: Portraiture from Copley to Close
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (8/30/2006-12/30/2006)
Published References
DepartmentAmerican Art
Chuck Close
Artist
Susan Mullally
(born 1947)
Subject
Chuck Close
(American, 1940 - 2021)
Date1982
Mediumsilver gelatin print
DimensionsFrame: 14 1/4 x 17 1/4 in. (36.2 x 43.8 cm)
Image: 6 3/4 x 12 7/8 in. (17.1 x 32.7 cm)
SignedSusan Mullally Clark 1982
Credit LineGift of the Artist
Copyright© Susan Mullally
Object number1987.2.9
DescriptionSusan Mullally’s image of noted photorealist artist Chuck Close is not only clever, but also very appropriate to her sitter. The concept of multiple images is germane to his work as is the idea of making art from photographs.In a horizontal format, Close holds a black and white photograph of himself, apparently one of many, in front of his face. Visible are both of his hands, the top of his balding head, and his upper torso, informally dressed in a polo shirt. Behind him are two prints in his characteristic pixilated style.
Chuck Close, born in 1940, developed a singular deadpan style using frontal photographs of himself, friends, and celebrities. Close uses a grid system to enlarge the original photograph—sometimes to as much as six feet—and then paints the grid, cell by cell. He also reproduces his images in a variety of printmaking processes, including lithography, woodcut, and even rubber stamps. The method is both laborious and time consuming. Over time the cells have become larger and the resultant image more abstracted.
Close visited Reynolda House on May 7, 1982, and gave an informal talk at ten o’clock in the morning as well as a more formal talk in the evening at eight. Although Mullally was asked to include some reference to Reynolda House in each of her photographs of visiting artists, the one of Close is so focused on his work that specific references to his location are eliminated.
ProvenanceFrom 1993
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by the artist in December 1993. [1]
Notes:
[1] Email from artist, June 13, 2006, object file.
Exhibition History2006
Self/Image: Portraiture from Copley to Close
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (8/30/2006-12/30/2006)
Published References
Status
Not on view