Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close at The Bruce Museum

The Bruce Museum in Greenwich is presenting Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close in the main Love, Newman Wild Galleries through January 5, 2013 with a portion on view in the Lecture Gallery through January 26.

With a body of work composed almost entirely of portraits, the American artist Chuck Close has been astounding us with his artistic verisimilitude for more than four decades. His prints, especially, are adventures in problem solving: working from the particularities of each print medium – woodcut, etching, silkscreen, linocut, aquatint, pulp-paper multiple – he gives his imagination free rein to reconceive their aesthetic possibilities. Although a spirit of experimentation characterizes Close's work across all media, it is particularly evident in the wide-ranging scope of his printed production.

Chuck Close announced his arrival on the contemporary art scene with his large-scale, black-and-white airbrushed heads, paintings based on photographs he had transferred to canvas by means of a grid. Recognition came quickly: his work was shown at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, in 1969, followed by a solo exhibition at New York's Bykert Gallery in 1970 and a one-man show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1971. In 1972 he created the first print of his professional career, a mezzotint, which began a life-long engagement with the aesthetics and technology of printmaking. The collaborative nature of this work has been vital to the artist's creative process: working with master printers, Close alters one or several variables to create endless permutations in a wide variety of print techniques, usually recycling past portraits of himself, his family, and his friends.

The Bruce Museum is also sponsoring a lecture series relating to this exhibition on Dec. 12 beginning at 7:30 p.m. and is titled Closer: The Art of Chuck Close in the Context of the 1970s that is being led by  Kenneth Silver, PHD, Professor of Art History, New York University, Adjunct Curator of Art, Bruce Museum.  There will be a dessert reception for both lectures from 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. and reservations are required.  Visit www.brucemuseum.org to make reservations. 

Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close is accompanied by a generously illustrated catalogue by the same title. A lecture series and film series will also complement the exhibition.

About the Bruce Museum

Explore Art and Science at the Bruce Museum, located at One Museum Drive in Greenwich, Connecticut. The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday from 1 pm to 5 pm; closed Mondays and major holidays. Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for students up to 22 years, $6 for seniors and free for members and children under 5 years. Individual admission is free on Tuesday. Free on-site parking is available and the Museum is accessible to individuals with disabilities. For additional information, call the Bruce Museum at 203 869-0376 or visit the website at www.brucemuseum.org.