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Artworks
Chuck Close 1940, Monroe, WA, USA-2021, Oceanside, NY, USA
Lucas / Mosaic, 2019Glass smalti and ceramic combination220 × 182,9 × 3,2 cmEdition 1 of 2
No. 73179.01Further images
'I made a series of paintings that I called 'Professional Posers'—Lucas Samaras, Alex Katz, Francesco Clemente... people whose images are well known to us because they constantly use self-portraits in..."I made a series of paintings that I called 'Professional Posers'—Lucas Samaras, Alex Katz, Francesco Clemente... people whose images are well known to us because they constantly use self-portraits in their work. And always successfully. Lucas is unstoppable—he has an incredibly intense gaze, which he holds for just a fraction of a second before his face seems to completely disappear. He knew exactly how he wanted to see himself in my works." — Chuck Close
The small pieces smalti mosaic glass, assembled to recreate Portrait of Lucas Samaras, revive the tradition of golden tesserae and semiprecious stones—materials carefully selected to evoke wonder and admiration in Byzantine and medieval art. Close's approach to mosaics captured the essence of his photographic realism, enhancing the visual impact of his signature technique, as the structured grid gave way to the tactile, fragmented nature of mosaic art, blending abstraction and photorealism in a unique, monumental way.
Exhibitions
Chuck Close. Infinite. Gary Tatintsian Gallery, Jun 18–Sep25, 2021
Chuck Close: Mosaics. Museo d'Arte della città di Ravenna, Italy, Oct 4, 2019–Jan 12, 2020Publications
Catalogue 'Chuck Close. Infinite'. Gary Tatintsian Gallery, 2021. pp.4–5, 21, 55–63
Artifex Press: Chuck Close: Paintings, 1967-Present. No. MOS 2019.03. Accessed 8 January 2021
Chuck Close: Mosaics. Museo d’Arte della città di Ravenna, Italy, 2019: cover, illustrated; pp. 32, 35, 42, 45, 84 (details); p. 85, illustrated
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