Chuck Close, Cindy (2006), jacquard tapestry, at PaceWildenstein
PaceWildenstein Gallery in Chelsea presents the latest Chuck Close exhibition, showing seven oil on canvas paintings in addition to tapestry portraits of Brad Pitt, Ellen Gallagher, Philip Glass, Lyle Ashton, Andres Serrano, Cindy Sherman, Lorna Simpson, Zhang Huan, and two self-portraits. An exhibition catalog with an introductory essay by curator Lilly Wei accompanies the show.
PaceWildenstein
Chuck Clise: Selected Paintings and Tapestries, 2005-2009
534 West 25th Street, New York
May 1 – June 20, 2009
RELATED LINKS
Exhibition Page [PaceWildenstein]
Chuck Close: Tapestries [Magnolia Editions]
Chuck Close Opening Thursday 4/30 [Magnolia Editions Blog]
Video: Chuck Close Tapestries at PaceWildenstein [Magnolia Editions Blog]
Chuck Close Artist Page [Art Observed]
Chuck Close, Self Portrait/Color (2007) Tapestry at PaceWildenstein
Michael Danoff, Chuck Close, Donald Farnsworth, and Brad Pitt at PaceWildenstein with Close’s Brad tapestry; photo by Lewis deSoto. Via Magnolia Editions.
Chuck Close, Philip Glass State II, 2006. Jacquard tapestry, 103 x 79 in. Edition of 6. Via Magnolia Editions.
PaceWildenstein has represented Chuck Close for over 30 years, and this exhibition marks his first solo show of new paintings since 2005. Jacquard tapestries with computerized photo transfers signify a new step for the renowned portraitist, who has long employed a range of printmaking methods “in his continuous investigations of the human face.” The tapestries are woven from daguerrotypes or Polaroid portraits and blown up to a larger-than-life, almost panaromic, degree. The artist’s own frequently rendered visage is featured most notably in a 15-foot horizontal work with five consecutive views of Close.
According to curator Lily Wei, “Close takes modern technology – the camera, the computer and other means of mechanical, digitalized reproduction – and makes it serve traditional art forms…his own hand matters to him; if he works with a tapestry manufacturer, a master printer, or experiments with daguerreotypes, he still controls every aspect of the production and results.”
Chuck Close, Zhang Huan I (2008), oil on canvas, at PaceWildenstein
Chuck Close, Self Portrait/Five Part (2009) at PaceWildenstein
Work by Chuck Close, one of the most prolific and recognized contemporary artists today, is represented in over 65 major public collections across the world. Past solo exhibitions at SFMoMA, High Museum of Art in Atlanta, The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Walker Art Center, as well as a score of monographs and a 2007 documentary titled CHUCK CLOSE, An Astounding Portrait, add to the artist’s oeuvre of photography and photo-influenced fine art.
Chuck Close Lorna (2006-07), jacquard tapestry, at PaceWildenstein
Chuck Close, Andres (2006), jacquard tapestry, at PaceWildenstein
In conjunction with the tapestries and oil paintings on view at PaceWildenstein’s West 25th Street location, Pace/MacGill (32 West 57th Street) is also presenting Chuck Close: Maquettes and Multi-Part Work (1966-2009) through June 6, 2009.
