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THE OFFICIAL DIRECTORY OF CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS
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«My art has been greatly influenced by a brain that sees, thinks, and accesses different information ;really of others. I was not aware that I had chosen to paint portraits because I had difficulty recognizing faces.«

From a very young age, the painter suffered from prosopagnosia which forced him to resort to painting. only being able to memorize faces in two dimensions. However, this will not prevent Chuck Close from becoming a reference for realist painters as well as current illustrators. Who is Close? What is the work of this modern painter?

 

The first steps of this figurative painter

Charles Thomas «Chuck» Close was born on July 5, 1940 at Monroe in Washington State. At the age of 18, the painter studied abroad. University from Seattle. He completed his Bachelor of Art at university from Washington in 1962 before training at art in Yale a year later to obtain his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree as well as a Master of Fine Arts in 1964. The same year, thanks to a scholarship, Close has the opportunity to to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Paris Vienna.

This figurative painter first considered himself an artist. as a third wave abstract expressionist imitating the styles of Willem Kooning and Arshile Gorky. Small small, it goes from biomorphism to; the figuration.

 

The human face: «a road map of human experience» (Close)

In 1965, Close returned to the United States to teach painting at a university. Amherst, University of Chicago of Massachusetts. Close to the will to break the gestural style which had characterized his student work. The painter moves towards pop-inspired figuration before turning to the tools of commercial art and illustration.

He received his first individual exhibition in 1967 where he received his first solo exhibition. his nude paintings sparked controversy. His exhibition resulted in a historic trial which aims to extend freedom of expression in the visual arts.

Chuck Close reduces his palette to black and white by basing his paintings on photographic images which gives his painting a unique feel. large scale Big Nude(1967), a painting 3 meters high by 6.5 meters wide. That same year, this painter, considered As one of the most influential American figurative painters, he moved towards his favorite theme: portraits. This marks the first cycle of the painter's hyperrealistic portraits. He takes photos of his models which he then reproduces on very large formats.

 

A Hyperrealist Painter

By installing to New York, the painter continues to explore explore realism. He paints black and white photographic portraits of those around him, with very precise details, on large format canvases using watercolor paint. airbrush.

Close painted the portrait of the composer Philip Glass in 1969. His portrait Phil is representative of the hyperrealist artistic movement.

In 1970, he exhibited his paintings alongside Richard Van Buren and Lynda Benglis in Paris. the Bykert Gallery at New York. That year, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis acquired Big Self Portrait, a self-portrait of the painter made by the artist. three years ago. He gives up little to nothing. little its strictly monochromatic palette in favor of a trichromatic palette (red, blue and yellow). In 1971, he received his first major museum exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

 

Methods that evolve

At the end of the 70s, Chuck Close began to use a grid system to obtain works that read like pixelated mosaics. Whether fingerprints, superimposed color shapes, the viewer's perception blends distinct areas of juxtaposed colors into a unified image. Perception therefore varies depending on the facing position; the canvas.

In 1980, the Walker Art Center Minneapolis is organizing Close Portrait, the first retrospective of this figurative painter. This one traveled in Missouri at the Saint Louis Art Museum, at the Museum of Contemporary Arts in New York. Chicago to finish at the Whitney Museum of American Art in Chicago. New York.
By continually questioning modes of representation, Chuck Close studies all possible techniques. The painter's work includes:

  • painting
  • engraving
  • the drawing
  • screen printing
  • lithography
  • collage
  • polar photography
  • the sculpture
  • the tapestry


A passionate painter; and determined

Continued; a rare case of collapse of the spinal arteries caused by by a spinal cord infarction, Close found himself tetraplegic in 1988. Refusing to stop painting, he was fitted with a medical aid. a brush holding device attached to the brush his wrist as well as’ his forearm. To overcome his handicap, Chuck Close then developed a new way of painting. His painting then becomes more colorful and brighter.

From 1991, he continued his work on portraits by creating silk tapestries. In 2003, he produced portraits of large scale Jacquard tapestry. He died on August 19, 2021 in Paris. Oceanside in New York State.

Découvrez quelques oeuvres inspirées de Close

Named contemporary work « Pour Clémentine  1997 », Made by DIDIER SITAUD
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W. 14 x L. 18 x D. 18 cm
didier sitaud
Named contemporary work « Checker Cab », Made by PASCAL LENOBLE
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W. 89 x L. 116 x D. 116 cm
pascal lenoble
Named contemporary work « Madnna », Made by PASCAL LENOBLE
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W. 100 x L. 100 x D. 100 cm
pascal lenoble
Named contemporary work « Le jaguar a soif », Made by PASCAL LENOBLE
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W. 50 x L. 40 x D. 40 cm
pascal lenoble
Named contemporary work « Mustang », Made by PASCAL LENOBLE
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W. 73 x L. 100 x D. 100 cm
pascal lenoble
Named contemporary work « Fille au bord du ruisseau », Made by PASCAL LENOBLE
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W. 50 x L. 40 x D. 40 cm
pascal lenoble
Named contemporary work « Amélie », Made by FLORE BETTY
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W. 50 x L. 70 x D. 70 cm
flore betty
Named contemporary work « Sensualité », Made by JENNIFER JANE
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W. 120 x L. 90 x D. 90 cm
jennifer jane
Named contemporary work « L'Homme et l'Enfant  - », Made by LUC LUFA
30 €
W. 40 x L. 50 x D. 50 cm
luc lufa
Named contemporary work « TEMPER TRAP », Made by RICHY WAM K
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W. 41 x L. 33 x D. 33 cm
richy wam k
Named contemporary work « La rivière gelée », Made by PASCAL LENOBLE
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W. 70 x L. 100 x D. 100 cm
pascal lenoble
Named contemporary work « Serge n°4 », Made by ANNA PRASOLOVA
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W. 98 x L. 130 x D. 130 cm
anna prasolova
Named contemporary work « Couché de soleil sur les merles », Made by PASCAL LENOBLE
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W. 120 x L. 90 x D. 90 cm
pascal lenoble
Named contemporary work « La machine du temps », Made by LEO NOVORO
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W. 89 x L. 116 x D. 116 cm
leo novoro
Named contemporary work « Voisine  - », Made by LUC LUFA
20 €
W. 24 x L. 30 x D. 30 cm
luc lufa
Named contemporary work « Fin de la soif », Made by ROUBA HARB
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W. 21 x L. 29.5 x D. 29.5 cm
rouba harb
Named contemporary work « Rock Singer », Made by RICHY WAM K
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W. 40 x L. 50 x D. 50 cm
richy wam k
Named contemporary work « Clint Eastwood Realistic Drawing », Made by VICTOR LUSSAUT
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W. 24 x L. 32 x D. 32 cm
victor lussaut
Named contemporary work « johnny hallyday », Made by PASCAL LENOBLE
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W. 120 x L. 90 x D. 90 cm
pascal lenoble
Named contemporary work « Neige sur le Banc », Made by PASCAL LENOBLE
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W. 60 x L. 70 x D. 70 cm
pascal lenoble
Named contemporary work « Sad of sadness », Made by STéPHANE-HERVé
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W. 54 x L. 65 x D. 65 cm
stéphane-hervé
Named contemporary work « Céline », Made by DENIS
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W. 28 x L. 42 x D. 42 cm
denis
Named contemporary work « Asiatique », Made by LUC LUFA
60 €
W. 50 x L. 65 x D. 65 cm
luc lufa
Named contemporary work « etude pour mikado », Made by JEAN-CHARLES BELLIARD
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W. 60 x L. 120 x D. 120 cm
jean-charles belliard
Named contemporary work « Ferrari 458 », Made by PASCAL LENOBLE
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W. 80 x L. 70 x D. 70 cm
pascal lenoble
Named contemporary work « Verte », Made by FLORE BETTY
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W. 50 x L. 60 x D. 60 cm
flore betty
Named contemporary work « Ruelle de Calvi », Made by AMéLIA GAZZO ILLUSTRATIONS
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W. 20 x L. 20 x D. 20 cm
amélia gazzo illustrations
Named contemporary work « habillage sur osier », Made by ANNE CABROL
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W. 45 x L. 65 x D. 65 cm
anne cabrol
Named contemporary work « Montre Philippe Dufour », Made by ALBANE GALERNEAU
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W. 50 x L. 65 x D. 65 cm
albane galerneau
Named contemporary work « Modèle de dos. », Made by MITRA SHAHKAR
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W. 30 x L. 20 x D. 20 cm
mitra shahkar
Named contemporary work « Paris Notre Dame », Made by NOëLLE HUIN
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W. 55 x L. 38 x D. 38 cm
noëlle huin
Named contemporary work « BIGGY », Made by RICHY WAM K
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W. 22 x L. 27 x D. 27 cm
richy wam k
Named contemporary work « Improvisation », Made by DENIS
900 €
W. 63 x L. 43 x D. 43 cm
denis
Named contemporary work « Bulit 24 heures », Made by PASCAL LENOBLE
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W. 116 x L. 81 x D. 81 cm
pascal lenoble
Named contemporary work « Slave to Love », Made by JEAN PIERRE NEGRI
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W. 80 x L. 160 x D. 160 cm
jean pierre negri
Named contemporary work « Laval historique (2eme version) », Made by FRéDéRIC VIGNEAUD
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W. 70 x L. 55 x D. 55 cm
frédéric vigneaud
Named contemporary work « Chapline n°2 », Made by ANNA PRASOLOVA
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W. 100 x L. 100 x D. 100 cm
anna prasolova
Named contemporary work « Empathy », Made by DENNISG
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W. 80 x L. 60 x D. 60 cm
dennisg
Named contemporary work « La Penseuse », Made by PASCAL LENOBLE
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W. 55 x L. 38 x D. 38 cm
pascal lenoble
Named contemporary work « PAPA », Made by RICHY WAM K
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W. 33 x L. 41 x D. 41 cm
richy wam k
Named contemporary work « THE WITCHER », Made by SYLOU
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W. 30 x L. 40 x D. 40 cm
sylou
Named contemporary work « Le pouvoir des fleurs », Made by DOMINIQUE JANIERE
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W. 65 x L. 92 x D. 92 cm
dominique janiere
Named contemporary work « Camion et Latécoère », Made by PASCAL LENOBLE
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W. 130 x L. 89 x D. 89 cm
pascal lenoble
Named contemporary work « Ron Perlman », Made by JUIN
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W. 29.7 x L. 42 x D. 42 cm
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Named contemporary work « Jackson », Made by PASCAL LENOBLE
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W. 80 x L. 60 x D. 60 cm
pascal lenoble
Named contemporary work « Le fumeur », Made by GéRARD MENVUSSA
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W. 60 x L. 80 x D. 80 cm
gérard menvussa
Named contemporary work « panthère », Made by SANPIER
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W. 50 x L. 80 x D. 80 cm
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Named contemporary work « L'Eprise », Made by FLORE BETTY
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W. 50 x L. 60 x D. 60 cm
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Named contemporary work « Voilà », Made by MOOXTIK
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W. 21 x L. 29.7 x D. 29.7 cm
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Named contemporary work « Orange », Made by FLORE BETTY
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W. 50 x L. 70 x D. 70 cm
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