If you live in or near San Francisco, you are a lucky duck. Chuck Close’s spectacular self -portraits are at the SFMOMA through February 28th, and if you have never seen his work in person, we say “run, don’t walk”.
Chuck Close is an artist whose work should be seen. These are wonderful paintings- almost 100 self-portraits in all- that really come to life in person. The size and scope of his photo-realistic portraits are awesome. And while some people might not thrill on the use of grids to recreate images, it is how Close chooses to fill in the grid that makes his paintings so spectacular. It is also a great to see not just the art but the artist change throughout the almost 40 years of work.
The show runs through February 28th
I love Close's work. Love it. I think as more and more people become familiar with Close's history, they will not only understand why he chose to use the grid system, but the mere fact that he can even achieve this is miraculous. The man, clearly, was going to do his art no matter what. Nothing stopped him. Nothing.
My friend worked as a preparator for a show that included two of Chuck Close's portraits. It was great to be able to go into the empty gallery, stand really close to one of the pieces and then just back up, at various speeds. It's an experience that you just can't get from a coffee table book.
just wanted to say that this exhibit is awesome (and disconcerting. can you imagine painting your own image over and over again for forty years?) especially with the sketches and gridded photos right next to the paintings, and anyone going to see this one MUST check out the kiki smith exhibit as well. amazing.
you have full shows of chuck close and kiki smith in the same building?
(must.fly.to.sf.)
guido, it would be worth the flight... and you can download sfmoma podcasts for each exhibit and listen to chuck close and kiki smith describe their work (actually, you could do that in new york).
the met had a small exhibit on his prints-- which had works from each step in the labour intensive (and even more obsessive) process. it made me a convert-- i had never really understood chuck close before! here's the link for more information on that show: http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_event.asp?OccurrenceId=%7B1A3760AF-520F-439E-948E-16FAE366A882%7D