Product Description

This volume, the most comprehensive assessment of Chuck Close's work yet published, accompanied a mid-career retrospective exhibition that opened at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, on February 25, 1998. A leading figure in the New York art world since the early 1970s, Close has recently concentrated on portraits of his artist friends and colleagues, characterized by colorful patterning and vivid brushwork. Subjects include Robert Rauschenberg, Roy Lichtenstein, Alex Katz, Kiki Smith, Lucas Samaras, and Lorna Simpson. Here, more than 90 paintings, prints, drawings, and photographs are reproduced, along with details and comparative illustrations.

Edited by Robert Storr.
Essays by Kirk Varnedoe and Deborah Wye.
Foreword by Glenn D. Lowry.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #481051 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07-15
• Released on: 2002-09-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

From Library Journal
This well-produced, standard-format catalog is appropriately direct in summing up the career of one of America's great contemporary painters. For three decades Close has painted one subject?the human head?in a strikingly immediate, deceptively dispassionate manner. In the 27 years since his first museum show, he has struggled to overcome the label of photorealist, and the subtle but constant evolution demonstrated in this retrospective should finally prove that he never really belonged in that particular school. Instead, a man concerned with the vagaries of paint and its application, with the process of seeing, and with the creative process is what emerges from the 60 extremely rich reproductions, the three essays by Museum of Modern Art curators, and the candid interview. Complete end matter closes the volume. A perfect complement to John Guare's more personal account of Close's paralysis, Chuck Close (LJ 2/15/96), this is recommended for all but the smallest libraries.?Eric Bryant, "Library Journal" Danzker, Jo-Anne Birnie.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
Chuck Close was born in Monroe, Washington, in 1940 and studied visual art at Yale University. Photography has been an integral part of his painting process since the mid-60s, and later became a body of work in its own right. Close has also distinguished himself as a master of printmaking. Since 1967 his work has been the subject of more than 100 major exhibitions throughout the world.

Kirk Varnedoe, formerly chief curator of the Department of Painting and Sculpture at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, is professor of historical studies at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University.

Robert Storr is a curator, artist and critic who is the Dean of the Art School at Yale University. Among his many books is Modern Despite Modernism.

Deborah Wye is the Chief Curator in the Department of Prints and illustrated books at The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Customer Reviews

A retrospective of work by one of America's premier artists.
While in Chicago in the Summer of 1998, I happened across an astounding exhibition of work chronicling the life's work of Chuck Close at the Museum of Contemporary Art. This book is a catalogue of the traveling exhibition that is no less astounding and amazing. Chuck Close is an amazing human who focuses on portraits of human heads and most are executed on a grand scale. The book will take you through his life, via his work, chronologically. Not to be missed are the portraits, done in watercolor, that while inches away from the work, I could not tell it wasn't a photograph. The best thing about the book is that it catalogues every piece in the retrospective and is formatted in a scale that conveys the grandness of the paintings. It is a truly amazing and intriguing body of work that is not to be missed.

Truly amazing
While at the MoMA I happened across the Chuck Close exhibit. I had heard of him, but had never seen his work. As I walked through the exhibit I thought to myself, "big deal, a bunch of 9 foot tall photographs." But when I notice the medium was acrylic I was astonded! This book captures the unbelievable talent of this amazing artist. It shows his the vast array of materials he used from paint, to pieces of paper. i would highly recommend buying this book! It is one of my favorites.

You need to be Up Close
Big book! I bought this for my shiftless but talented cousin but read it cover-to-cover before mailing it to him. Close's work is fantastic.