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Chuck Close, courtesy the artist and MTA.

Artist Projects

Chuck Close Portraits at 86th Street Subway

Chuck Close is one of four artists chosen to install their art in the newly opened New York City subway stations along the 2nd Avenue Q line. Close's mosaic portraits, including Lou Reed, Philip Glass, Kara Walker, and Close himself, are permanently on view at the 86th Street station.

Read a New York Times feature on the subway art installations (opens in a new window) here.

Read an interview of Chuck Close about his subway portraits in Architectural Digest (opens in a new window) here

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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.

Learn More

  • Artist Projects — Chuck Close Portraits at 86th Street Subway, Jan 25, 2017