Pace Prints is pleased to present an exhibition of portraits by Chuck Close, featuring prints that depict fellow artists and employ a comprehensive breadth of printmaking techniques.
The exhibition will include Self-Portrait, 2014, a large-scale woodcut created in collaboration with printer Karl Hecksher over three years using eighty-four colors. The saturated and viscous oil-based ink embodies the look and technique of Close’s iconic paintings. The exhibition will also include portraits of the artists John Chamberlain, Philip Glass, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Lucas Samaras, Cindy Sherman and Kara Walker.
Throughout his career, Chuck Close’s relationships with artists have shaped and informed his work. These faces define decades of creative practice. “Virtually everything that happens in my unique work,” Close asserts, “can be traced back to the prints.” Chuck Close: Portraits of Artists features paper pulp, archival watercolor pigment print, woodcut, etching and felt hand stamp methods of printmaking.
In 2000, Close was presented with the prestigious National Medal of Arts by President Clinton. Close is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, has served on the board of many arts organizations, and was appointed by President Obama to serve on The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. His work is featured in national collections such as The Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. This November, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia will host Chuck Close: Prints, Process and Collaboration, the largest exhibition of Close’s work ever presented in the southern hemisphere.