- Ray Monde
How much Chuck can a wood Chuck cut? #closetochuck #ChuckClose
When I heard that the Chuck Close exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia was just prints I was really put off. I mean, would you go and see an exhibition of Francis Bacon prints? You’d lose that texture, the thickness of the paint. It would be silly, indeed.
Stupid me. It clearly shows my lack of understanding of Chuck’s work that much of his work is prints. Painstakingly crafted prints that involve layer after layer after layer.
This wood block was a case in point. The wall was covered in different wood cuts, each highlighting different elements and colours of the final work. It’s pretty hard to fathom that this piece is part of this image of Emma:
Chuck Close Emma 2000 oil on canvas © Chuck Close, courtesy Pace Gallery
The best thing about the show is the process, seeing how Chuck put his work together, his innovation with materials, his sheer determination to create a work how he wants to create it – even if it may take years. It’s a beautiful, wonderful, inspiring exhibition. One of the best, most in-depth exhibitions I’ve seen in a long time. It makes me feel small and inadequate but it also makes me realise we just need to do what we love and pursue it – at all costs.
