Chuck Close Heads

Chuck Close Heads

Chuck Close Heads

25 October - 29 November, 2014

Š Utopia Art Sydney

Chuck Close’s images of himself, his friends, family, and the occasional politician (Obama and Clinton spring to mind), could be called portraits. However, the term “heads” is probably more appropriate, and more in line with the artists own thinking.

In the seminal text on Close’s prints, “Chuck Close: Prints, Process and Collaboration”, Richard Shiff writes that “initially, Close called his early black-and-white portraits “heads” to stress the importance of their impersonal, process-oriented construction - he was certain he wasn’t doing portraiture nor was he a realist or even a photorealist.”

The head can be understood as a formal entity composed of a series of interrelated abstract shapes. Even in his hyper-real art, Close breaks his subject down into its composite marks in order to build it back up again. So, in one sense, the notations of art making are the subject across all of his work.

The meticulous processes of printmaking, the intricate layering of colours and shapes, has played a pivotal role in Close’s studio practice: “Virtually everything that has happened in my unique work can be traced back to the prints.” There is also an interesting relationship at play between the photographic prints from which Close often works, and the traditional handcrafted printmaking techniques through which his subjects are elaborated.

In collaboration with some of the world’s most experienced master printmakers, Close has created works which are in many ways more labour-intesnsive and time-consuming than painting. Some of these prints have over 200 colours, some took over a year to realise and some are nearly two metres tall. Because of the great demand for Close’s painting, his focus on printmaking has also made his work available to a much broader audience.

It is wonderful that the Museum of Contemporary Art, Australia will be staging a major survey of Close’s prints, opening in late November. It is a rare opportunity for Australian audiences to see a blockbuster exhibition devoted solely to an artist’s printmaking oeuvre, and one that will introduce many not only to the depth and breadth of Close’s practice but to the incredible potentials of printmaking.

After many years of campaigning by our director, Christopher Hodges, and working closely with Pace Prints, New York, Utopia Art Sydney presented the first Australian exhibition of Chuck Close’s work in 2010.

Today, Utopia Art Sydney holds the largest collection of Close’s prints available in Australasia. To coincide with the MCA’s survey exhibition, we will show a selection of Close’s “heads”.

Chloe Watson

Self-Portrait, 2014, 84 colour woodcut, 35 1/2 x 29 1/2 inches (image size), 43 1/4 x 35 1/4 inches (paper size), edition of 70

[currently accepting pre-orders, print still in production)

Self-Portrait Screenprint, 2012, silkscreen in 246 colours, 59 1/2 x 50 inches (image size), 66 1/2 x 55 inches (paper size), edition of 80

Self-Portrait, 2002, Forty-three colour handprinted woodcut on Nishinouchi paper, 22 1/8 x 17 3/4 inches (image size), 31 x 25 inches (paper size), edition of 60

Self-Portrait Woodcut, 2007, ukiyo-e woodcut from 39 blo 30 x 25 inches (image size), 37 x 30 inches (paper size), e

ocks with 47 colours on shiramine paper, edition of 60

Self-Portrait Woodcut, 2009, woodcut in 47 colours, 28 x 23 inches (image size), 35 1/2 x 28 1/2 inches (paper size), edition of 70

S.P. I, 1997, linoleum cut printed reductively, 11 5/8 x 9 inches (image size), 24 x 18 inches (paper size), edition of 70

S.P. II, 1997, linoleum cut printed reductively, 11 5/8 x 9 inches (image size), 24 x 18 inches (paper size), edition of 70

Janet/Pulp, 2007, stenciled handmade paper print, 47 1/4 x 38 1/2 inches, edition of 35

Alex, 1991, ukiyo-e woodcut from 47 blocks with 95 colours, 23 1/4 x 19 1/4 inches (image size), 28 x 23 1/4 inches (paper size), edition of 75

Alex (Colour), 1992, 165 colour ukiyo-e woodcut printed from 86 woodblocks, 23 1/4 x 19 1/4 inches (image size), 28 x 23 inches (paper size), edition of 75

Alex/Reduction Print, 1993, screenprint from reduction carved linoleum, 72 x 58 inches (image size), 79 3/8 x 60 3/8 inches (paper size), edition of 35

Chuck Close Heads

25 October - 29 November, 2014

Utopia Art Sydney 2 Danks Street Waterloo NSW 2017 Telephone: + 61 2 9699 2900 email: utopiaartsydney@ozemail.com.au www.utopiaartsydney.com.au Š Utopia Art Sydney

Utopia Art Sydney 2 Danks Street Waterloo NSW 2017 Telephone: + 61 2 9699 2900 email: utopiaartsydney@ozemail.com.au www.utopiaartsydney.com.au