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Museum Exhibitions

NSU Art Museum in Fort Lauderdale Presents Chuck Close Photographs

NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale will present the first comprehensive survey of the photographic work of renowned American artist Chuck Close.

Chuck Close Photographs, on view from March 20 through October 2, 2016 features 86 images from 1964 to the present and illustrates the full range of the artist’s exploration of photography—from early black and white maquettes, to monumental composite Polaroids, to intimately scaled daguerreotypes and recent Polaroid nudes. The exhibition examines how Close, one of the most important figures in contemporary art, has stretched the boundaries of photographic means, methods, and approaches and provides an in-depth look at photography as the foundation of his creative process.

Chuck Close Photographs is co-organized by Terrie Sultan, Director of the Parrish Art Museum, Water Mill, NY, which originated the exhibition, and Colin Westerbeck, independent curator and photography scholar.

While most widely known as a painter, throughout his career Close has been deeply engaged in both photography and fine art printmaking, and these artistic approaches have informed and inspired him. Sultan notes, “The photographic origin of each Close painting is well known; however, Close’s exploration of the medium itself extends far beyond the use of photographs as a programmatic tool,. Whether he uses a photographic image as source material or as an end in and of itself, everything he creates begins with a photograph.”

Visit the museums website for more details on the (opens in a new window) exhibition.

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Chuck Close

Chuck Close is renowned for his innovative conceptual portraiture. He began creating photorealist portraits from photographs in the late 1960s, using a grid to map each facial detail. In the late 1970s, he began shifting away from this approach, creating images with layers of autonomous shapes and colors that cohere into his subject’s face when viewed from a distance. Constantly revitalizing his practice, Close works across a variety of media, extending beyond painting to encompass printmaking, photography, collage, and tapestries based on Polaroids.

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  • Museum Exhibitions — NSU Art Museum in Fort Lauderdale Presents Chuck Close Photographs, Mar 17, 2016