STUDIO
330
A Heroic Effort
At The Lemberg Gallery
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everal years ago, after a
In fact, said Ms. Carroll, a
devastating, life-threaten- Close painting has seldom — if
ing illness that left him par- ever — come up at an art auction.
tially paralyzed, artist A sign, she said, that those who
Chuck Close centered his recov- own his paintings do not part
ery around the one thing that had with them.
defined his life — painting. All
Many art connoisseurs have
the steps leading to the fine mas- been inspired by Mr. Close's abil-
tery of brush and color were only ity to triumph over his physical
prerequisites to regaining his limitations, said Mrs. Lemberg.
artistry.
"It's enough to overcome an enor-
His paintings from the last two mous obstacle, but then to create
decades, on exhibit at the Lem- these overpowering pieces shows
berg Gallery in Birmingham, his lasting power," she said.
demonstrate his heroic determi-
In 1989, Mr. Close was para-
nation — and a mythic-sized pa- lyzed when his spinal artery col-
tience that would even impress lapsed. Since then, he's regained
the tireless Sisyphus, and the re- some motion. But he must wear
lentless Job.
The exhibit also signals
the end of a long wait for Cor-
rine Lemberg, whose gallery
has evolved since the early
1970s to its prominence to-
day, in exhibiting one of
4
America's finest portraitists.
"We've been watching V %.
fk
Chuck Close's work for 20 •
years," she said. "The por-
traits are compelling and
with his impressionistic tech-
nique, the eyes (of the por-
traits) seem to follow you."
Mrs. Lemberg said that
the assembled range of Mr.
Close's portraits marks a first
for the metro Detroit gallery
scene. Since 1976, prints of
Mr. Close's work have been
available through the blue-
chip gallery Pace Editions in
New York City. And, since
Mr. Close is hardly prolific —
completing one or two pieces
a year — there's been great
anticipation for his complet-
ed work.
That's why there's a long
waiting list for a Close paint-
ing, said Mrs. Lemberg. Mr.
Close's paintings are also ex-
hibited at several prestigious
museums, including the Na-
tional Gallery in Washing-
ton, D.C., and the Tate
Lucas, a woodcut by Chuck Close.
Gallery in London.
During the days of ab-
stract expressionism of the late a wrist brace to steady his hand
1960s and 1970s, Mr. Close was while he paints. And while work-
firmly planted in the painting tra- ing on large-scale paintings, Mr.
dition of realistic portraiture. Close raises and lowers himself
Ironically, during the last decade on a forklift.
as the trend turned toward real-
His portraits at the Lemberg
ism, Mr. Close has been explor- Gallery appear in two distinct
ing a more impressionistic styles: photorealism, from his ear-
approach.
lier period; and impressionistic,
"There's great respect for him from his most recent collection.
as an artist and as someone who Regardless of style, however, the
sticks to his vision and is not work is distinguished by what it
swayed by popularity or what reveals about Mr. Close's sub-
sells," said Darlene Carroll, man- jects, who are typically his friends
ager at the Lemberg Gallery.
and relatives.
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One of his earliest paintings,
Philip, is a revealing portrait of
composer Philip Glass. It shows
the free spirit and spontaneity
which are features of Mr. Glass'
compositions.
The intricate painting process
begins with an image from a pho-
tograph. Then, Mr. Close uses a
grid system whereby he builds
the painting square by square
based on the photo. Often each
grid on the canvas will have its
own pattern, which blends with
the larger image.
Collectively, Mr. Close imparts
a simple truth about the most
puzzling of all subjects — the hu-
a
man face. The farther one stands
from his painting, the more the
painting resembles the coherent
lines and shapes of the face. In
general, these faces are remark-
ably familiar. Perhaps it's be-
cause what is revealed about the
faces touches on universal
themes of human suffering, doubt
and independence.
Upon up-close examination,
however, the complexity of Mr.
Close's technique seems to reveal
the interior lives of his subjects.
One of the exhibit's most stark