Chuck Close - Lucas, 2011
Jacquard tapestry, 87 x 74 in. Edition of 6Chuck Close's first tapestry edition of 2011 is a portrait of the groundbreaking artist
Lucas Samaras, who (like
Close) is perhaps best known for his self-portraits.
Samaras's work often involves one of
Close's favorite photographic media – the Polaroid, which
Samaras manipulates in innovative ways to produce "photo-transformations."
Close’s
Lucas is woven at a more intimate size than his previous tapestries, and the unprecedented detail in its matte surface is due to a higher thread count and a new palette which includes wool fibers for several of the black values in the work. With darker blacks and brighter whites than any of Magnolia’s previous tapestry publications, this work has an exceptionally photographic quality appropriate to its subject.
Like his other tapestry editions depicting fellow artists and creative figures,
Close's tapestry portrait of
Samaras was digitally translated from a daguerreotype. Together with
Cindy Sherman and
Andres Serrano, also subjects of
Close tapestries, and the painter
Alex Katz (another artist who has created a tapestry with Magnolia Editions), these two artists are largely responsible for redefining contemporary portraiture: the extraordinary detail of
Close's image and the sheer intensity of
Samaras's gaze leave no doubt that both artist and subject are masters of their craft.
Chuck Close - Lucas Press Release (PDF, 179 Kb)
More art by Chuck Close at Magnolia EditionsUPDATE: Here is a nice high resolution photo of
Lucas at White Cube Gallery's booth at the Armory Fair in New York last month, courtesy of
Artobserved.com (check their site for more photos from the fair):
photo by L. Streeter, Artobserved.com - click to enlarge
