Chuck Close is an influential American photographer, photorealist painter, and printmaker who lives and works in New York.

For more than 30 years Chuck Close has explored the art of printmaking. Most of his works are large-scale portraits based on photographs of his family, friends, himself, and fellow artists. Some prints can take up to two years to complete. To create his iconic grid-work images, Close puts a grid on the photo and on the canvas and copies each section cell by cell. His first tools for this included rags, an airbrush, a razor blade, and an eraser mounted on a power drill.

In 1988, Close had a spinal artery collapse that left him a quadriplegic. Many thought his career was over, but not only did he return to painting, he returned with a new style that has kept his place as one of the great American painters of our time.

The subject of this print is Zhang Huan (b. 1965, China) who is one of the most vital, influential and provocative contemporary artists working today.

Links

Chuck Close on painting with both hands

In 1969, Close’s work was included in the Whitney Biennial, and he had his first one man show in 1970. Close’s work was first exhibited at the New York Museum of Modern Art in early 1973.