Chuck Close 1940, Monroe, WA, USA-2021, Oceanside, NY, USA
Further images
“I’m working with the color equivalent of a musical chord—a kind of color chord,” – Chuck Close
The “optical blending” is the phenomenon where the human eye merges adjacent colors into a single hue. In Close’s work, this process defines the viewer’s experience: first, the eye operates on a micro level, combining the colors within each cell into a unified fragment of color information; then, on a macro level, these fragments accumulate, transforming the grid’s abstraction into the vivid image of a human face.
The grid itself carries a surprising musicality. Its structured repetitions establish a steady, precise rhythm, while subtle shifts in color unfold like chromatic modulations, imbuing the composition with a dynamic sense of harmony.
Exhibitions
Chuck Close: Infinite. Gary Tatintsian Gallery, Jun 18–Sep 25, 2021
Chuck Close: Red Yellow Blue. Pace Gallery, 534 West 25 Street, New York, Sep 11–Oct 17, 2015
Chuck Close. Pace Gallery, 12/F, H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong, Jan 10– Feb 22 (extended through March 7), 2020
Publications
Catalogue 'Chuck Close. Infinite'. Gary Tatintsian Gallery, 2021. pp. 24, 35, 38–39, 100–101
Artifex Press: Chuck Close: Paintings, 1967-Present. No. PA.2015.05. Accessed 21 July 2017
Epstein, Johanna Ruth. “Chuck Close, Pace” (exhibition review). Art News (November 2015), p. 92
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