November 05, 2016—April 02, 2017
Henry Art Gallery
University of Washington
15th Ave NE & NE 41st St.
Seattle, WA 98195
www.henryart.org
Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Blog
The Henry is pleased to present Chuck Close Photographs, the first comprehensive survey of the photographic work by renowned American artist Chuck Close (born 1940). The exhibition features over 90 photographic works from 1964 to the present.
Chuck Close Photographs represents the full range of the artist’s exploration of photography—from early black and white maquettes for his paintings to monumental composite Polaroids and intimately-scaled daguerreotypes. Known for depicting friends and family in his paintings, in photography Close expanded his interests to include images of flower studies and nudes. This exhibition reveals the fundamental role photography has played in Close’s artistic practice for over five decades, and shows the breadth of his curiosity and spirit of innovation.
“We are thrilled to host this exhibition given the stellar quality of the works, Chuck’s relationship to the region, and the Henry’s extensive collection of photographs,” says Sylvia Wolf, John S. Behnke Director at the Henry. “We are particularly pleased to include a number of works from local collections, including key paintings that bring to life the connection between photography and Close’s works in other media.”
Chuck Close is a visual artist noted for his highly inventive techniques used to paint the human face. Best known for his large-scale, photo-based portrait paintings, Close is also an accomplished printmaker and photographer. He has participated in over 800 group exhibitions and has been the subject of more than 200 solo exhibitions in more than 20 countries, including major retrospective exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid and the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Born in Monroe, Washington in 1940, Close studied at the University of Washington School of Art (BA, 1962) and at the Yale University School of Art and Architecture (BFA, 1963; MFA, 1964), receiving honorary degrees from both of his alma maters as well as 20 other institutions. In 1997, he was awarded the University of Washington Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus, the highest honor an alumnus of the university can receive. Close was presented with the prestigious National Medal of Arts by President Clinton in 2000. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, has served on the board of many arts organizations, and was appointed by President Obama to serve on the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. Close lives and works in New York.
On Saturday, November 5 at 1pm, Terrie Sultan, co-curator of Chuck Close Photographs and director of the Parrish Art Museum, will discuss the exhibition in the Henry’s auditorium. The talk is free to the public.
Chuck Close Photographs was developed by Terrie Sultan, Director, Parrish Art Museum, and Colin Westerbeck, independent curator. The exhibition is made possible, in part, by the generous support of the Lannan Foundation; Jon and Mary Shirley Foundation; Louise and Leonard Riggio; The Muriel F. Siebert Foundation; Pace Gallery, New York; Amanda and Glenn Fuhrman; Jennifer Rice and Michael Forman; Marie Josée and Henry R. Kravis; The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation; Joseph M. Cohen; Andrea Krantz and Harvey Sawikin; Gretchen and Andrew McFarland; Arthur Loeb Foundation, and those who wish to remain anonymous donors. Presentation at the Henry is organized by Sylvia Wolf, John S. Behnke Director, with support from ArtsFund, the Boeing Corporation, the Lannan Foundation, and the T. William and Beatrice Booth Exhibition Fund.
Also on view:
Paul McCarthy: White Snow, Wood Sculptures
through January 15, 2017
MOTHA and Chris E. Vargas present: Trans Hirstory in 99 Objects
through June 4, 2017
About the Henry
A museum of contemporary art and ideas, Henry Art Gallery presents provocative exhibitions by a multi-national roster of emerging and mid-career artists. Known for taking risks and for allowing space for uncertain outcome, we anticipate the conversations and opinions that will be important and relevant in the field.
For further information and image requests, please contact [email protected].
