Familiar Faces: Chuck Close in Ohio Collections

This is the first time Close's work in Ohio museum collections hangs beside rarely seen pieces from private owners.

Starting in the late 1960s, Close re-invented and reinvigorated portraiture. This genre, then regarded by critics as academic and outdated, was given up-to-the moment relevance by Close’s monumental, painted heads. His meticulously crafted portraits were regarded as being on the cutting-edge of contemporary art, which was focused on concepts, systems and process rather than representation and the skill of the artist’s hand.

Karl and Bertl Arnstein Galleries.
Contemporary art.